Uzumaki Naruto: The Ninja Chronicles II
by Durza II
Summary: [Continuation of my first story.] Naruto has been gone from the Ninja World for seven years,along with Hinata. But now they are back, and what they have been planning for years has now come to pass. It's time to fight the shadows of Akatsuki. M for safety
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

"I want to be complete."

Yonbi's eyebrows rose at the comment. He did not for a second think he had misheard. He knew precisely just what Naruto had said. But the question was did Naruto know what he was talking about?

"Why?" he asked, his body expression unchanging. Naruto, sitting beside Yonbi, looked up at the rising sun.

"I am tired of being viewed as the Kyuubi. I remember the time when I embraced the Kyuubi's power to gain revenge on those who had kidnapped Hinata. I remember the hatred and evil coursing through my veins. Although I wanted revenge, that power, those feelings, were not mine. Years ago, when I training away from Konoha, I learnt many things, and when I came back to Konoha, a picture began to form in my mind. It slowly developed as my time as a Konoha shinobi grew. The missions I went on with my teammates showed me many facets of this world. I saw death, sadness, pain, anger, hatred, and misery, but I also saw joy, happiness, and life. The world is such a chaotic, incomplete thing, just like me. I don't want to feel like that. I want to help, but a deformed and incomplete vessel like me cannot hope to achieve that."

"Who are you to point out a twig in someone's eye when you have a log in yours," Yonbi quoted. Naruto nodded.

"Exactly. Before I can go on to do what I must, I have to be whole on the inside. That, to me, is more important than any training. It is the only way I can accomplish any of my goals."

Yonbi nodded. "I see. And I suppose you reached this conclusion on your own? You are very wise for such a small person, Naruto." For a second, the pain and sadness etched into Naruto's face disappeared and was replaced by a foxy smile full of life.

"Well, I had help," Naruto said, thinking back to the things the Fourth Hokage had left him. The square metal plate Sarutobi had given him in his dying moments, an event that seemed so far back now, he had used to open up a secret vault, and there he had found a scroll addressed to him. It had given him little information, but the bits it had given had proved invaluable. And then the life vanished from Naruto's face as he remembered recent events. The death of Taita-sensei at the hands of an Akatsuki member; the feud that had sparked up between certain shinobi the moment Sakumo-sensei and Jin-sensei had arrived back in Konoha, showing that they had faked their deaths; the revelation that Hinata had been cast aside to the Branch Family of the Hyuga Clan and was branded with the eternal **Caged Bird Seal**; Sasuke's defection from Konoha to Orochimaru; Naruto's fight with Hiarashi, in which he was beaten, badly; and finally, the sense of loss and failure Naruto felt for so many things.

"Konoha has no place for me anymore," Naruto said, and this time his manner had reverted back to the detached and cold behaviour he had exhibited after his training with his three senseis. "It will not be long before Akatsuki come looking for me again, and this time they will kill those who stand in their way. It's only Tsunade-baa-chan that saved me from being openly executed by the Council, or else being exiled from the village altogether. It's only a bit of luck that saved me from many harsh decisions by the Council, although no longer being considered a Konoha shinobi is very hard to bear. But, regardless of whether or not I'm a Konoha shinobi or not, Akatsuki will still come after me, so this is only a temporary measure. And I still need to bring Sasuke back. I will not let my friend sell his soul and let Orochimaru gain the **Sharingan**. I made a promise to Sakura and Hiarashi that I wouldn't mess things up, and I intend to keep it. But being stuck here with nothing to do will not help anyone. That's why I am taking Ero-Sennin's advice and training to get stronger, and this will only be the first step." Naruto let out a breath after such a speech. Yonbi had not moved at all, but now he slowly turned his head and looked straight into Naruto's eyes, and all signs of age and frailty were absent in his manner. Yonbi slowly nodded.

"It's time, then," he said. "Come, Naruto, let us leave. You have a very long journey in front of you, in more ways than one."

XXX

Hinata slowly picked herself from the ground, gritting her teeth against all the pain she was in. Her training clothes were in tatters, and she had several wounds on her body, and even more on the inside. Even with her **Byakugan** activated, she could barely see.

"That's enough for today." The cold voice filled with malice came from none other than one of her relatives, a branch family member. "You can barely move. We shall resume tomorrow. You may no longer be part of the Head Family, but the Hyuga still require strong shinobi." With that, he moved away from her. As soon as he was out of sight, Hinata slumped to the ground. The past few months had been a nightmare. Even her training sessions with Naruto had never been this exhausting and punishing. But this wasn't training, this was simply punishment. The branch family would finally have a little satisfaction at getting the better of the head family, and the head family would sleep well knowing an unworthy heir was getting her just reward.

"Hinata-chan." Hinata's whole body tensed at the voice. She slowly got up, her eyes on the person in front of her.

"Hanabi-hime," Hinata said bowing. Hanabi's eyes seemed to shine at the greeting.

"Father and I were watching your practice bout. He says that despite no longer being a part of the head family, you should still do your best as a Hyuga. He is not satisfied with your jutsu. You need to improve." With that, Hanabi gave a nod of the head in farewell before she turned and left as silently as she had appeared.

"Hai," Hinata said to no one. But it seemed that the surprises had not yet finished.

"You don't belong here, Hinata." Hinata's eyes widened as she heard the hurtful words from a person she thought cared for her. She whirled round, her eyes showing her panic and confusion.

"You do not belong here with the Hyuga." Sanhana walked forward from the shadow of the tree he had been standing under.

"Please, Sanhana, don't say such things. I swear I will get better. Just give me one more chance to prove myself to the Hyuga." Sanhana looked at her, and his foreboding manner disappeared and was replaced by the sigh of an old man.

"Listen well, granddaughter," he said as he walked up to her. "You are a true person, true of heart, but being a Hyuga will not promote that gentle nature of yours. It will only turn you into a cold shell, or worse a broken vessel. You are not safe here. Things are changing in the world, and the only way the Hyuga will react will be with military and political strength. You won't survive the trials you will go through now that your head family status has been revoked. You should leave while you still have the chance. Go far away from this place. Become strong in your own way. Help others, just like your mother, my dear daughter, used to do. Understood?" Hinata looked into the old man's eyes, and saw not coldness or pity, but genuine caring. She slowly nodded. Sanhana smiled.

"Good. I have already packed your things. Once you are outside Konoha, you will meet someone who will take you away from here and to a better place."

"But what about you, Sanhana?" Hinata asked in a worried tone. "Won't they discover that you helped me? What will happen to you? Come with me." Sanhana shook his head sadly.

"Alas, I can't. I am simply too old for such adventure. My time is drawing near. The only thing I can do is make sure my daughter's vision remains alive through you. Your mother's death affected Hiashi very much. He is not the man he once was. And do not worry about pursuit. With the **Caged Bird Seal** on you, no one will bother to look for you. It's sad, really, but it's perfect for your escape. Now go." Hinata's eyes filled with tears and she hugged Sanhana fiercely. After a minute, he gently retracted her arms from around him and shooed her away.

XXX

"Hatake Jin and Hatake Sakumo," Gai said, his voice its usual jovial self.

"Is that anyway to greet your sensei, Gai?" Jin said with a raised eyebrow. Gai paled slightly before bowing deeply in apology.

"Hai, Jin-sensei, I apologize!" Jin smiled a little. Gai had not changed at all after so many years.

"No time for dawdling, Gai! I hear you have a very promising student. Take me to him at once."

"Hai!" Both shinobi flickered before disappearing. Silence. The remaining two shinobi looked at each other, their expressions similarly blank. Their expressions were not the only similar thing they shared. They both had unruly silver hair, they were both tall, and they were both Hatakes. After a short pause, one of them reached into their weapons pouch and drew forth an orange book titled "Icha Icha Paradise", turned to a page and started reading.

"I see uncle Jin has not changed at all," Kakashi noted lazily. His eye was fixed firmly on the book, the only sign for anyone who knew him intimately – like Gai – that he was thinking very deeply. Sakumo looked at his son and did not know what to make of him. Here was Hatake Kakashi, one of the most revered ninja in the world. His eyes lingered on the hitai-ate that covered Kakashi's Sharingan. Sakumo, for the first time in ages, felt at a loss. He had missed so much of his son's life, and was responsible for quite a few of Kakashi's scars.

"Yes," Sakumo replied. "He hasn't." Kakashi did not say anything, merely turning a page in his book.

"Naruto has grown since I left him more than a year ago in the Konoha forest."

"Ah," Kakashi said. "So it was you, Uncle Jin, and Uncle Taita that trained him then? I always wondered why his fighting style was like that of a Hatake. So you trained Naruto, but why?"

"We were following orders."

"Just like faking your deaths I suppose? Whose orders?"

"The Fourth Hokage." Kakashi stopped mid-way turning his page. After a second, he finished turning his page and propped himself off the wall he had been leaning against.

"I see," he said, still not looking away from his book, his manner still bored. "Well, I've got to go. Bye." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakumo sighed and shook his head, but he hadn't expected any more. Kakashi was a grown man who had spent most of his life in hurt and pain and without a family. If he wanted forgiveness, he would have to slowly earn it from Kakashi.

XXX

Five boys sat at the Ichiraku Ramen stand. They all had steaming bowls of ramen in front of them and chopsticks in their hands. They ate in silence, which was rare, considering that two of them were considered very loud, the loudest of their class. After they finished, they sat there in silence.

"I'm sorry." Four of them looked at the first to break the silence, shock written all over their faces.

"You all did your part, going as far as to risk your lives." Shikamaru, Neji, Choji and Kiba's expressions slowly turned from shock to understanding. There was a gruff bark, and a little white dog jumped from Kiba's head and onto the counter. "You, too, Akamaru," Naruto said, taking in all the bandages on the poor dog. He looked back at the four, absently scratching Akamaru. "You faced shinobi way above our league, and you won, but when it was my turn to face a shinobi from our own class, I couldn't complete the mission and bring Sasuke back. I was too weak. Sasuke and Hiarashi were right; I am a weakling. I just hope that you can forgive me, and that, in time, I can repay the blood debt." Naruto stood up and lifted the cloth that covered the stand as he prepared to leave. But even without facing them, the image of all of them bandaged, of Neji and Choji on crutches, was burned into his mind.

"I know of a way you can repay me," Neji suddenly said. Naruto stopped and looked back at the Hyuga. "You can look after Hinata-hime." Naruto's face turned to a puzzled expression, but before he could ask any questions, all six shinobi, Akamaru being the sixth, heard the approaching voices they knew very well. Naruto, not wanting to stay for the reunion that was about to happened, quickly nodded and left the Ramen stand. He only walked a few steps before he heard someone shout his name.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. Naruto then made a mistake. He looked. Only for a second, but it was enough. He locked eyes with Sakura. The girl he once had a crush on, but now merely regarded as a comrade. The girl he had made an eternal promise to, a promise he broke. Sakura saw the pain in Naruto's eyes, and realized that despite the talk they had had in Naruto's hospital room weeks before, Naruto still bore feelings of guilt. Before she could say anything, however, he suddenly disappeared.

"He must not have heard you," Ino commented, already walking toward Choji. She had never thought she would lose one of her teammates, but Choji's critical situation had made her aware of just how attached she was to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Shino did not comment, and Tenten only sighed before going to join the others. Sakura stood there for a moment, Naruto's tortured eyes still in her mind. Her resolve hardened. He wouldn't do it alone. After a moment, she moved toward the stand and joined in the chatter.

A few blocks away, three kids were walking down the street when suddenly a package dropped in front of the leader.

"Huh?" Konohamaru said out loud.

"What do you think it is?" Moegi asked.

"I don't know," Udon said, "but I think it's for Konohamaru."

"Why do you say that?" Konohamaru asked.

"This is the same way Naruto-nii-san told you about your grandfather's inheritance when he was off to a mission in the Land of Snow. Maybe he couldn't stop by and did the same thing."

"Yeah, I guess that's it," Konohamaru said with a shrug. Inside, he was disappointed. Ever since he found his inheritance with Naruto's help, and with the help of his teammates and Ebisu-sensei, his growth had dramatically improved.

Konohamaru opened the package, and to his surprise, he found Hokage robes, the ones his grandfather used to wear, except his size. He also found a black _gi_ he could use for training and fighting, and some armour and a helmet that had the Konoha symbol on the front. It was an exact copy of his grandfather's attire. On top there was a simple note written in a flowing hand and in red ink.

"_You are the honorable grandson, a Sarutobi._

_But you are also Konohamaru. Never forget that._

_Train hard and become strong, someone your grandfather can be proud of and Konoha can depend on._

_Show Konoha the Sarutobi Clan did not die with Old Man Hokage._

_I will always be there for you,_

_Naruto-nii-san._

"What does it mean?" Moegi asked.

Konohamaru's hands shook and there were tears in his eyes.

"It means our boss has finally left."

XXX

Hinata waved at the guards by the gate as she walked. They waved back before returning to their game of shougi. Normally they would stop anyone from leaving or entering unless they saw official documentation, but Konoha's economy was severely depleted, and the only way to regain its former glory was through missions, and stopping shinobi every time the left or entered would only slow down the whole process.

After she was out of sight from the gate, she sighed in relief.

"Going somewhere?" Hinata whirled, her hand reaching for a kunai from her pouch. She saw an old man standing in front of her. he had long silver hair, a curious horned hitai-ate that read "Oil", a sleeveless red jacket, and green clothing. It was Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin.

"You're Hinata, right?" Jiraiya said, propping himself off the tree trunk he had been resting on. She nodded, her eyes fearful and defiant as well. Jiraiya nodded.

"Naruto has told me quite a bit about you. He went to great lengths to make Tsunade come back and heal you. Of course, the effort was wasted, seeing as your father's seal seemed to have done the job of waking you from your comma." Jiraiya's eyes momentarily lingered on Hinata's forehead where the green seal was visible.

"Sanhana seems to also have some nice things to say about you, and last time I checked, he was still a cranky old man, so you must definitely have some good qualities!" Jiraiya laughed, easing the tension Hinata had been feeling. Jiraiya-sama knew Sanhana, which meant…

"I'm the contact, yes," Jiraiya said as if reading her mind. "But I won't be taking you anywhere. The Council has respectfully asked for my continued presence in Konoha to help the regeneration." Hinata knew what he was talking about. The Council had ordered Jiraiya to remain in Konoha so as to increase the military strength and dissuade any nations from attacking. Also, Jiraiya and Kakashi had been assigned as Hiarashi's personal senseis until further notice. There were murmurs Hiarashi was already being groomed as the next Hokage, despite the fact that it was up to Tsunade to choose.

"Since I can't go, I have arranged for someone else to take you seeing as you're going to the same place. But before I go, I need you to give someone a little present." Saying that, Jiraiya formed hand seals too fast for her to see. After a second, he opened his mouth, and to her shock and slight disgust, a toad's head emerged from his mouth. But the toad opened its mouth as well, and something began to emerge from the mouth. After a second, she recognised that it was a scroll, a very big scroll. It was half her size in height and twice her girth. How could something that big fit inside a man? It must be the power of a Sannin. When the scroll dropped onto the ground, the toad retracted back into Jiraiya's mouth. Jiraiya smirked at her expression. He winked.

"Well, I've got to go. See you around, Hyuga Hinata." It was only after he disappeared in a puff of smoke that she realized he hadn't told her who to give the scroll to.

XXX

Naruto looked back at Konoha. Even in the dark, it looked beautiful. The moon accentuated every building and landmark well. To his surprise, he found that his eyes were moist. He had grown attached to this place. It was his home. So much had happened here in such a short time. He had made friends and enemies. He had settled down here. But now he had to leave, maybe forever.

"Goodbye, Konoha." Naruto turned his back on Konoha and walked away. Yonbi looked over his shoulder at the slumped figure of Naruto.

"I know something that can cheer you up," he said. Before Naruto could ask, they stepped into a clearing, and to his surprise, there stood Hinata, a huge scroll next to her.

"Hinata!" Hinata looked up at him and smiled. She knew now who the scroll was for.

"Naruto-san." Quickly, they traded stories. Naruto listened with disbelief at Sanhana's sacrifice. He knew that if he was ever found out, he would be killed.

"Don't worry," Naruto said. "You'll come back and see Sanhana soon. I'll come with you." Hinata nodded with a smile.

"Where are we going, Naruto-san?" Hinata asked.

"To _Hi no Tera_, the Temple of Fire. Ero-Sennin and Yonbi-sama have a contact there that will keep us safe for a while until we get stronger. But I will have to go to the Land Of Water before long. A friend needs my help." Naruto did not elaborate, and Hinata did not ask. She had learned long ago that Naruto only told you when he was good and ready. Naruto thought back to the letter he had gotten the previous week. Haku was alive and well, and she was going back to her clan with Inari. They would be safe there, and Haku would finally have a family. But Naruto also knew that Zabuza's dream of assassinating the Kirikage lived in Haku. The Kirikage was a dangerous and malignant man. She would try to overthrow him, but she needed his help if she was going to be victorious. Naruto hefted his scroll.

"Alright, let's go," Yonbi said. All three shinobi disappeared.

XXX

"Naruto's gone missing, and so has Hinata."

"What?"

"There's no need to shout, Sakura."

"Hai, I apologize, Hokage-sama."

"Don't worry about it," Tsunade said dismissively.

"What are we doing about it?" Sakura asked, keeping her eye on the fish in front of her. Tsunade sighed.

"Nothing."

"What?" This time, Tsunade did not bother reminding Sakura about her manners.

"There's nothing we can do. We are already stretched enough as it is, and Sasuke's defection cost us a lot of missions. The Council overruled any idea of sending a search party. There is nothing I can do about that. But Jiraiya has assured me Naruto is alright and in safe hands, so we can only hope he comes back soon. Sakura looked down at her fish with tears in her eyes.

_You won't do this alone, Naruto._ The green chakra around her hands increased in intensity.

XXX

"So, he's gone," Hiarashi said, her tone unreadable.

"Hm," Kakashi replied in a non-committal way. Hiarashi did not bother with pestering her lazy sensei. She knew she would get nothing out of him.

"He should have been killed long ago," she said coldly.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked, his eyes still on his book.

"I accept it now, he is not the Kyuubi. But still, he has Akatsuki – a group of now ten S-rank criminals, thanks to the three Hatakes for killing three – after him, not to mention Orochimaru and any other ninja out there after the demonic power of Kyuubi. He should have been killed to remove that threat, and if it hadn't been for those genin interfering, I would have done it myself when I fought him."

"Well," Kakashi commented after a pause, "he is alive, and out of reach, so there is nothing we can do." Hiarashi shrugged.

"If he has any sense, he will stay hidden."

"I am curious about your behaviour though, Namikaze Hiarashi" Kakashi continued.

"Why is that?" asked Hiarashi.

"Well, I was just wondering why you would want your brother, the only living relative you have, dead, instead of helping him." Silence. In her shock, Hiarashi's concentration dropped, and all five shadow clones she had summoned dispersed into smoke. Kakashi turned a page in his book.

"You didn't know? Oops." Kakashi turned another page.

XXX

Naruto looked at the massive gates in front of him. There were huge symbols written on the gates. Yonbi went up and knocked gently at the gates, then sat down and leaned against the gates. He closed his eyes.

"You might want to settle down," he offered to Hinata and Naruto. "The opening of the gates only happen twice every twenty-four hours." Hinata activated her Byakugan. She gasped at what she saw. There was a very large and weird chakra operating on the gates. In fact, the chakra surrounded the entire temple site.

"What's this?" she asked. Yonbi opened an eye and looked at her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you possessed the Byakugan." He sat up straighter. "Might as well turn this into a little lesson." Naruto groaned, and Yonbi smiled. "These gates are Seal Gates. They were made millennia ago to be a gate to another dimension."

"Another dimension?" Hinata asked incredulously. She had never thought such things were real.

"Of course," Naruto answered. "Where do you think the animals ninja summon come from? They do not exist on the same plane of existence as us. We have to call on them from there using the Summoning Technique, a very common but extremely powerful space/time jutsu, a dimensional jutsu."

"Exactly, Naruto," Yonbi said with a nod. "Anyway, the gates were built by the founder of this temple, whose statue you shall see once we are inside. These gates open up not into the dimension of summons, but somewhere inbetween the two worlds. That way, the Temple is apart from the world, yet still connected to both. The founder was interested in the summon creatures, for they were animals that could use chakra, just like us ninja. So he made these gates, which acted as a bridge between this world and the world of summons. In fact, he is the one who first used the **Kuchiyose no jutsu**. It was his creation."

"So you're saying that the Temple of Fire is actually located somewhere between two dimensions?" Hinata asked, disbelief still on her face.

"Yes," Yonbi said simply. "This is why you will see some strange things during your stay here. The laws that govern this world are skewered inside the Temple grounds, and are therefore either half-effective or non-existent altogether, like Time."

"Time is non-existent?" Naruto asked with a shiver.

"No," Yonbi said. "Time is a constant in the world. It exists, but our perception of it is skewered. It might seem like an afternoon lasted an entire year, or else the night was incredibly short. Thank the gods that the founder built this place smack in the middle of the dimensions, otherwise the monks here would be in big trouble. They could be stuck in time for eternity, or else age incredibly fast … ah, someone's coming to open the gates." Sure enough, the gates opened a crack. Yonbi slipped through, followed by Naruto and Hinata. They followed the monk in silence. Soon enough they reached a big marble temple, and many monks were engaged in different activities, walking to and fro. None of them paid Naruto and Hinata the slightest bit of attention, although quite a few people acknowledged Yonbi.

They were led through the temple and into a room. A man was sitting before a big statue of a winged man wearing a mask and holding a weapon in his lap. The man, like all the monks, was bald.

"It's been a long time," he said. "What name do you go by these days?"

"Yonbi."

"Ah, how apt. I suppose you are finally coming out of your shell?"

"Something like that, yes." The monk stood up and turned toward them.

"Thank you, brother. You can go now," he said, and the monk who had led them to the room bowed before he left. The monk bowed back.

"And who are your companions, Yonbi?" he asked. Naruto studied him intently. He looked no older than thirty, and he shone with an inner light, but his eyes suggested great age. He carried himself well, and Naruto instinctively knew this man could take on Yonbi or Ero-Sennin or Tsunade-baa-chan and win.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, and his friend there is Hyuga Hinata." The monk raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Well, I am Matsuda, the Abbot here at Hi no Tera. Welcome. You have already met Chiriku. He was a former member of the 12 Ninja Guard of Fire, just like Sarutobi Asuma. I am sure we will all come to know one another … but be warned. We offer our graces to everyone, so there will be people and shinobi from all over here at the Temple, and some might have been enemies. Be careful, for although we try to maintain balance, but nothing is ever fully guaranteed."

"Hai!" Naruto and Hinata said.

The Abbot smiled. "Good. Now let's see what we can do with you. You are ninja, so undoubtedly you will want to train. We have excellent methods here, dating back centuries. We even have information on the Hyuga, young lady, which isn't surprising, seeing as Sanhana was once a pupil here, so don't worry about your Clan jutsu. You can still learn, and we have someone here to teach you. But, seeing as you are going to be students here, you are required to be respectful and pray as we do. You are required to join our faith. I know you can never be devout like some, but please show respect to our way of life and do not mock." Matsuda's voice had taken on a foreboding tone, but now it was back to normal. "Jiraiya learnt quite a lot from our faith, so perhaps you can as well, hm, Naruto?" Naruto nodded. He felt afraid in the presence of this person, a person who could rip him apart with a flick of a finger it seemed, but hid that power so well it seemed not to exist. He was sure the Abbot had purposefully let a small portion of his strength be seen as a warning to both Hinata and him, to show them not to mess around.

"Good," the Abbot said. "Now, here at the Temple of Fire, we focus on the completion of the soul, of the inner self. Only then can a person affect the outside world. Our entire training regime, and way of life revolves around completion and balance, more commonly called The Five Elements, as you will find out…"

XXX

"Iruka!" The shout did not stop the maddened Academy teacher. He might have stayed in a classroom for years, but he hadn't lost his skill. Iruka deftly found a way through Kakashi's guard and punched the Jonin in the face. Kakashi's mask and hitai-ate were torn off.

"You bastard!" Iruka screamed, and he went in for another hit. Without his Sharingan, Kakashi was much more vulnerable to a shinobi of Iruka's caliber.

"I left my students in your care, I left Naruto in your care. And see what happens? Gone! Two of them, gone! Bastard!" This time Iruka used a kunai and twisted it expertly in Kakashi's right arm, making it completely useless. Years of droning the basics to young shinobi had made Iruka knowledgeable to a lot most ninja forgot. And now he as using his fundamental knowledge to his advantage against a shinobi of Kakashi's level.

Kakashi was in a bloody mess. One second, he has been sitting in deathly silence next to a shocked Hiarashi, and in the next Iruka had appeared in front of him, eyes screaming bloody murder. Kakashi could have dodged and fought back, but after so many weeks, the grief had finally caught up to him. He let Iruka beat him, which only angered Iruka more. Iruka jumped into the air, a kunai in hand aimed for Kakashi's stomach. He would make the pain last as long as he could make it.

There was a flash of red and white, and a moment later Iruka was caught in the grip of a tall and powerful man. Jiraiya looked into Iruka's eyes with sadness.

"Calm down, Iruka!" Iruka struggled with no result until he realized he must also be caught in a genjutsu. He gave up, but his body was still tense and primed. Jiraiya sighed and looked down at Kakashi. Kakashi avoided his eyes and slowly got up, grimacing as he did so. Of all the people in existence, only seven had ever seen Kakashi unmasked. Iruka was the eighth. He glared at Kakashi, wishing more pain upon him. After a second, Sakumo appeared behind Kakashi.

"I sensed a commotion and…" Sakumo was at a loss. Kakashi had been beaten up by a chunin level Academy instructor? But then he looked into Iruka's eyes and knew Iruka was capable of far more than a mere teacher.

"Everything is fine now," Kakashi said, his voice still lazy and unstrained.

"It doesn't look it," Sakumo commented dryly. Kakashi ignored him and walked away, slowly. Only then did Jiraiya let go of Iruka. Iruka dropped to the ground and was up again in a second.

"Listen, Iruka!" Jiraiya shouted. "I know you miss Naruto, but you can't take this out on Kakashi. He feels bad as well. He's going through the same thing you are."

"Good," Iruka spat. "He should. He failed. He deserves the pain." With that, Iruka turned and walked away.

"You can't go after Naruto!" Sakumo called after Iruka, and then sighed when Iruka did not acknowledge him.

"He's not going to the gates," Jiraiya noted. It was true. Iruka was walking in the direction of the Academy.

"I hope he doesn't do anything stupid," remarked Sakumo.

XXX

The chamber was dark.

"Sasuke-kun." Sasuke turned slowly and looked straight up into the yellow eye of Orochimaru.

"I thought you were going to give me power," he remarked coldly. "Get on with it."

"Ku, ku, ku, Sasuke-kun. Your impatience is understandable, but you need to calm yourself. It will be years before you are ready. But I suppose there is not point in delaying any further. Still, I am interested in how you managed to upgrade from the first stage to the second stage of the Cursed Seal of Heaven on your own, and then use my pills to go to a new third stage." At once, Sasuke's eyes turned red with three tomoe.

"Ah," Orochimaru said. "Of course. Those beautiful eyes of yours." Without any more words, Orochimaru brought his palms together. An evil chakra filled the chamber, and Orochimaru's short hair started flowing upwards.

"**Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!** First, Second, Third!" Three coffins rose from the ground. When they finished, Orochimaru took three seal kunai and placed them through the coffins.

"Enjoy, Sasuke-kun. I cannot have inferior eyes, after all. This will make you much stronger, strong enough to endure my training. Goodbye until then. Kabuto will keep you company. I have other business to attend to." Orochimaru vanished into the shadows. Kabuto smirked.

"This should be very nostalgic, eh, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke ignored him and watched as the coffins opened. Three figures stepped out, and Sasuke almost lost his composure and gasped. Almost. He looked at the three people with a cool gaze.

"Sasuke-kun," all three said at once. Sasuke nodded. The first was a woman, an old woman, but she radiated strength as well. The second was an old man, and the golden ring on his finger, matching the woman's, made it clear they were married.

"Grandmother, Grandfather," Sasuke said. He looked at the third person. A person who was a part of the family in more than one way. An ache nearly Sasuke sob. He gripped his purple robes at the breast.

"Shisui-nii-san. I will avenge you. I will avenge all of you, all of the Uchiha Clan." In that chamber, there were suddenly four pairs of Sharingan eyes blazing as Sasuke's Uchiha training began.

XXX

_**Seven Years Later… **_

Sakura walked down the length of the corridor with a clipboard in hand. There was a thoughtful expression on her face. What her last patient had just said was very troubling. She should report it to Tsunade-sama immediately. Apparently the **Hyoton** clan in the Land Of Water had been led by their new leader against the forces of Kirigakure … and won. Their leader was rumoured to be the most gifted possessor of **Hyoton**, and she seemed to have an apprentice who was nearly as powerful, although not of the clan. What was most surprising was that they were very young. And in the attack on the Kirikage, another ninja had shown his presence and affiliation. A ninja whose reputation had been growing in the ninja world in the past two years. Not much was know about this ninja, apart from the fact that he was called Fujin, and that he travelled with a very beautiful female ninja. All this she had heard from the ANBU team who had been sent to discover the status of Kirigakure and the Land of Water by the Council. They did not like isolation and silence Kirigakure had been giving. Only one member had survived. The fight for leadership for Kirigakure had been a ruthless one.

"Sakura-san." Sakura stopped and looked up. She smiled.

"Iruka-sensei. How good to see you. Where have you been?" As soon as she asked, she wished she hadn't ANBU did not discuss their missions. She still could not believe, after all these years, that Iruka-sensei had quit his job as a teacher, something he loved passionately, to go and join ANBU. What was even more surprising was that he was now rumoured to be one of the best operatives they had, on par with the Hatake squad, the only team in ANBU which consisted of three people. Technically, Iruka was part of the Hatake squad, which consisted of Sakumo, Kakashi, and Jin, but after the incident seven years ago, Iruka did not associate himself with Kakashi any more.

"Oh, the same," Iruka said with a shrug and a small smile. "Missions are missions." Sakura was worried about Iruka, and to a lesser extent, Kakashi. No ANBU stayed in constant service for this amount of time. They went mad. But Iruka seemed to have embraced the work, and so had Kakashi. Why, she could never fathom.

"Well, we should go out for some ramen sometime," Sakura suggested. She regretted that too, the moment it came out. A shadow flitted across Iruka's face, but after a second, it vanished. He smiled.

"I'll meet you at Ichiraku Ramen tonight at seven o'clock then. I've got a night's rest before my next mission. Until then, Sakura-san." Iruka waved before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Sakura smiled sadly. Even after seven years, the little blond boy's memory was still alive in all who had known him. She shook her head. She had things to do. Like reporting to Hokage-sama, for a start.


	2. Chapter 2: The Mission part 1

"Ugh, it's way too early in the morning for me to be dealing with this."

"Tsunade-sama!"

"Do you have to shout, Shizune? I can hear you just fine as it is."

"The question what are we going to do about this?"

"Do about what exactly?" Tsunade asked the person who had intruded on her conversation with Shizune.

"What are we going to do about the information Sakura-san acquired from the ANBU?" Hiarashi said with a little exasperation in her voice. The room went silent as Tonton, Sakura and Shizune watched the pair. No one, apart from Jiraiya, was ever disrespected the Hokage.

"Kirigakure has just gone through a civil war and now has a new ruling body, a new Mizukage. It will need to regenerate, and as such it might resort to attacking other peoples or ninja nations. That might be good business for us, or it might lead us straight into a war seeing as we the Land of Fire is nearest to the Land of Water. The situation needs to be investigated some more."

Tsunade held Hiarashi's eyes, her face impassive. The silence resumes. Hiarashi was the only one who could voice her opinions, no matter how unpopular, to the Hokage simply for that fact that she could survive the Hokage's rage. After five years of intense training with one of the Sannin and the great Sharingan Kakashi, she had risen in power immensely. Most of the village was now of the opinion that she was the strongest shinobi in the village at such a young age, just like her father had been. After a second, Tsunade sighed and turned to look outside her window.

"You're right, I suppose. I'll think about the specifics for now, but please alert the Hatake Squad, Team 8, Team 10, and Team Gai to be ready for an intelligence gathering mission."

"Hai!" Sakura said before bowing and walking out of the room. Whatever was going to happen – and she was sure something was going to happen – she didn't want to be witness to it. Just like Naruto, Hiarashi seemed to have a knack for winding Tsunade up, except Hiarashi did not have Naruto's humorous way of doing it. When they went at each other's throats, Tsunade and Hiarashi had to be stopped at times from starting a fight.

"Those teams won't be enough to penetrate a war torn country's defenses, get enough information, and make it out alive. You need more people to go."

"You're wrong," Tsunade said. "If I send more ninja, it will seem like we are taking advantage of Kirigakure's weakness and planning an invasion, and we don't want that. Kirigakure may be recovering right now, and there will still be resistance cells throughout the land, but one thing all ninja in the Land of Water fear is invasion. They will band together, no matter their differences, and fight to the last to protect their home. Being the smallest of the five great shinobi nations, and even smaller than some of the lesser villages, Kirigakure has learnt that the only way to survive is to band together. If we march into the Land of Water with more than four squads, we'll spark up trouble we don't want."

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea," Hiarashi countered. "We have stabilized since the Sand/Sound War, but we can always expand our influence." Tsunade was alright shaking her head.

"Wrong. The Land of Water is isolated. For us to take over it, we would have to set up a permanent base there, and we cannot spare the ninja as it will weaken us for attack from any other nation. Besides, Kirigakure offers little to us, economy-wise. It's a bad plan."

"I still say they're not enough," Hiarashi said, her arms folded over her chest in defiance.

"Might I remind you that every member of Sakura's graduating class is or was an official ANBU member? They are very skilled. They will be enough. And no, to answer your question. You cannot go with them."

Hiarashi's face was stone cold. She would not admit that she wanted to go to the Land of Water. After a second she turned on her heel and left the office. Shizune and Tonton gave a collective sigh.

"Don't you have something to do?" Tsunade asked Shizune in her annoyed voice. Shizune got the hint. She picked up Tonton and left. The room returned to silence. After a second, Tsunade casually stretched her arms into the air. She stood up and went to stand by the window.

"Do you have any reason why she isn't allowed to leave? Because if not, and I just went through that useless debate for nothing, heads will roll." Behind her, next to the closed door, Jiraiya suddenly appeared. He had a pout on his lips.

"This is one of my best jutsu, able to fool S-class ninja into thinking I'm not there, and yet you can see through my invisibility jutsu like it's nothing." He sounded offended. Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry. Next time I'll put more effort into noticing your presence."

"Thanks," Jiraiya said with a smile.

"Just get on with it. It's been two years since you left. You better have some interesting information that's kept you out of contact for that length of time. The Council has been positively chewing me since you disappeared." Tsunade turned round, and Jiraiya's smile grew. Tsunade knew she was in for some very interesting news.

XXX

"Yo," came the greeting. Sakura turned round, a smile already on her face.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she greeted him.

"I don't know about sensei," he said, "but it's good to see you too." Her face fell. He wasn't even looking at her. And then her face fell even more when she saw what was occupying his attention.

"You're still reading those books," she commented with a sour expression.

"Yeah," he replied simply. She sighed. What had she hoped for really? He'd been an ANBU before he had taken Team 7 as his own cell, for more than a decade. Had she really thought seven more years as an ANBU would change anything?

"It's been a long time since I last saw you," she said as she walked toward him. He was leaning against a wall, in his usual relaxed manner. Apart from the two katanas strapped to his back, he had not changed whatsoever ever since she first met him all those seven years previously.

"Yeah," he agreed. "The last time I saw you is when you turned Jonin two years ago. Congratulation, by the way. I couldn't stay for more than a few seconds so we didn't get to talk much." Sakura understood. As one of the best ANBU, Kakashi nearly always had one mission or another. She didn't blame him. After seven years as the Hokage's aide and apprentice, she knew almost everything about Konoha and how it run on a day to day basis. She had seen quite a few of Kakashi's mission specifications. It was enough to impress her and tell her just how experienced and strong her former sensei was.

"It's alright. Listen, the Hokage had told me to tell you to stay put because she might have a mission lined up." Kakashi snapped his book shut and looked up at her.

"Might?" he queried. She frowned.

"Yeah, might. An injured ANBU I treated gave me a mission report to give to Tsunade-sama." She paused, waiting to see if Kakashi would comment because one of ANBU's mightiest rules; The only one who got a mission report was the superior who ordered the mission, which meant all ANBU only reported to Tsunade basically, the Hokage. But Kakashi did not comment, and so she continued. "He basically delivered a report on the recent conclusion of the civil war within Kirigakure and the Land of Water. Since it might affect the Land of Fire, and Konoha, it might be worth investigating and gathering intelligence. But Tsunade-sama needs to organize the mission in a friendly and also fruitful way, so she needs the right people for the job. She's alerted the people who she thinks are right for the job, but she may end up having to cut numbers."

"So this is basically a preliminary call, then."

"Right."

"Hm," Kakashi mused. This was very unusual for the Hokage. She usually just issued orders, and the right kind as well. This news must have been delivered just recently, and what's more, she might not have had time to muse over the information. That meant that she had been forced to act quickly, which could only mean the powerful and growing influence of the Council might have been the cause, or else another powerful and growing influence had forced her; Hiarashi.

"Ok," Kakashi said after a moment. He opened his book and began to walk away. "Well, I've got things to do, so I'll see you later. Bye."

"But what if the Hokage wants you?" She shouted after him, but it was too late. He had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

XXX

"So what's the news?" Tsunade asked. Jiraiya sighed as he sat down in a chair.

"I'm tired and thirsty. Can't we at least have a drink of sake first?" Tsunade looked straight into his eyes. "On second thought," Jiraiya said hastily, "Now is a good a time as any." He took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

"Well, first of all, Hiarashi cannot leave Konoha. I need to sort out the entire story and get some more information, but basically the heir to the Kongou clan of Iwagakure, the said to be the second strongest ninja in Rock Country, has been given the task of regaining his clan and his nation's honour." Tsunade's eyes widened. The Kongou clan had been one of the strongest clans in the ninja world for centuries. Even before shinobi nations were formed, and ninja wondered alone or with their clans, the Kongou were feared. The fame rivaled that of the Uchiha and the Hyoton using clan, the Hyougen. And during the Iwagakure/Konoha war, the Kongou had lost many shinobi and to the Fourth, and had also lost the clan leader, who also happened to be the Tsuchigake, also to the Fourth. If anyone had a grievance with Hiarashi, it was the Kongou.

"And you don't think she is strong enough to defeat the clan heir?"

"That's why I need to gather more information on him. From the little I know of him, and thank the gods I even know that much considering the isolation Iwagakure has been under, he is twenty-five, quite young, the most gifted of the clan in generations, and also just about on our level in strength. He should not be underestimated for he could wreck havoc, and the last thing we want is for Hiarashi and him to meet up without her being prepared. He already knows a lot about her, what with the Council insisting on the return of a Namikaze genius be announced to the world, but we don't know anything about him, not even a portion of his abilities. Granted, Hiarashi is one of the strongest ninja in this village, better than all of the Hatake squad combined, but still, nothing should be left to chance." Tsunade nodded after a moment.

"True. Continue with your report."

"Are you sure I can't have a drop of sake?" Jiraiya whined. All this sitting and talking was simply not him. Tsunade considered glaring at him again, but after a moment she relented. She was the Hokage, but she could afford to relax now and then, and even though she would never admit it to him, she knew if anyone in Konoha deserved a break and a lifelong holiday, it was the Toad Hermit. She got up and went to her desk. She opened a drawer and drew out a small red folder. She opened it, and inside, instead of documents, was a bottle of sake. Jiraiya shook his head and smiled. She was clever, that woman. Not even Shizune would think to look in there because red folders were "Hokage-Eyes-Only" files. Jiraiya realized she must have been saving this for an important time, and the high class label on it only furthered his opinion on the matter. Tsunade took two water glasses from the desktop and poured sake into them. The two sat opposite each other and drank for a few minutes in companionable silence. After a moment, Jiraiya continued.

"The matter in Kirigakure is quite troublesome. If what I've heard is right, Konoha is connected to the civil war. If we'd done our job right, there would be no civil war and no possible threat."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, either Kakashi's genin cell fouled up or else they lied in their mission reports. In their mission to the Land of Waves, they met and killed Zabuza and his apprentice, that Hyougen girl, Haku. Well, the new Mizukage and the clan leader of the Hyougen clan at the moment, the person who started and finished the war with some of the best militaristic results in history, is none other than Haku."

Tsunade looked at him with shock. She had read those mission reports, and every other one involving Naruto, in order to get a better understanding of the boy she had come to know very well. She could not imagine them making a foul up of some kind. She nodded for him to continue.

"Haku survived the battle and went to live with a family in the Wave country. That's where he met his apprentice, _Byakko_, the White Tiger. After a year, they moved on, wandering from place to place for three years, and after that they made their way back to the Land of Water where Haku was welcomed back to the Hyougen. Her past crimes were forgotten – killing her parents and several bystanders – and in a few more years she was made clan heir, and during the course of the civil war, which has lasted for two whole years, she became clan leader. Her abilities are great, and I can tell they are not mere exaggerations. She is one of the few people in the world who can use one handed seals, a power granted to her because of her Kekkei Genkai. She also is very talented at taijutsu, and her genjutsu skills are very good as well, and she is said to be the best medic Nin in the Land of Water. Some even claim she's as good as you, and if any of this is true, then she is a very great ninja at such a young age, wise as well, and a very big threat if she so chooses. Her apprentice and right hand man, Byakko, is also said to be a good ninja, and the head of the current members of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen."

"What!? She's already reformed the Swordsmen at such a short time."

Jiraiya nodded sadly. "Her power and influence are very great within Water country. Four of the previous members from the previous government have sworn allegiance to her and Kirigakure, and three new ones have joined. To stop the other ones from doing anything stupid, Byakko is said to have assassinated those three on his own, although at different times, not all at once."

"That is still pretty strong for a kid not even old enough to drink sake," Tsunade commented dryly. Jiraiya nodded and the two went back to having shots of sake. Tsunade grumbled to herself. This was all a headache. She thought about this new information, and she instantly knew she would have to cut down the cell numbers by half at least. It was simply too dangerous to have any more go. Kirigakure might get the wrong idea, and with such strong ninja, Konoha would revert back to its state when we fought in the Sand/Sound war if Kirigakure declared war. That could not be allowed to happen as Orochimaru had gained more territory and power for Otogakure in the past seven years. And then Jiraiya dropped a bombshell.

"Sasuke disappeared from Otogakure and Orochimaru a year ago." He took another shot of sake. Tsunade nearly dropped her glass.

"What!?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Even I would never have known that if a contact of mine hadn't come forward with the information, a very reliable contact. I don't know how he knows, but he does."

"He must be very well placed to know this," she commented dryly. Jiraiya looked at her.

"He's not a traitor, Tsunade. He never was and never will be." Jiraiya turned back to his glass and gulped it all down. Tsunade got the feeling there was more to the statement but she had enough on her plate so she didn't pursue it.

"That's another problem that will need investigating I guess," she said after a moment. Jiraiya shook his head, placing his empty glass on the desktop.

"No, it's fine. That situation is handled," he said. Tsunade looked at him. He shrugged, but did not elaborate.

"You know I can't just sit back without more information. I will have to send ANBU to investigate the matter more." Jiraiya shrugged again in a "suit yourself" kind of way. He got up and started to walk toward the door.

"Oh yeah," he said over his shoulder. He turned round. "Beware of Danzo and Root."

"I know," she said slowly. He nodded.

"Well, I'm off. I've got two years worth of research to do in Konoha. Time waits for no man." Tsunade merely shook her head. She had no time or patience for Jiraiya's antics at the moment.

XXX

The dojo was a simple bamboo building, simple but very supple and strong. The wood was a worn dull brown, showing that it was used quite a lot. The walls and ceiling, a lighter shade of brown, showed signs of constant repair, and there was a particularly nasty hole right at the centre of the ceiling which hadn't been repaired yet. Standing on one side of the dojo was a twenty-one year old man. He had curious pale lavender eyes, which were completely pupil-less. He wore grey robes with a black kilt on top. His long black hair was tied back with a knot, and he wore black _zori_, or sandals.

On the other side of the dojo stood another twenty-one year old man. He had a green body suit with black leg protectors on, and both his arms were wrapped with white bandages from fingertips to mid forearm. His jet black hair was cut short and had lost its bowl cut over the years. He had regained his long ponytail queue from his academy days.

Sakura walked into the large dojo and immediately sensed the tension.

"Sakura!" a voice whispered. She looked right and saw that above her was a glass window. The person who had shouted from beyond the thick glass was none other than Tenten. Tenten indicated to a door beneath the glass and Sakura headed for it. She went up the stairs and into a fairly dark room. She saw, to her surprise, there were more people in the room. In fact, most of the members of her genin class were there. Also, Kakashi was there, as well as Sakumo Hatake, Jin Hatake and Gai-sensei.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she came to stand by the glass window.

"My student is about to prove himself as a great ninja," Gai answered, and his was manner and voice were strangely normal and not their usual exuberant nature.

"But Lee-san is already a Jonin, and an ANBU member. The only shinobi in the history to ever get those ranks on taijutsu alone. What is there to prove?" she looked below at the two opponents. She didn't see the reason for this fight.

"The only way a ninja can truly prove themselves worthy, and not to others but to themselves, is fighting their ultimate rival." This came from Hatake Sakumo. Sakura took a second to size him up. He was definitely Kakashi's father. The similarities were there, and she didn't mean how they looked so much alike. It was their manner. Even though Kakashi could always be seen with his trademark orange Icha Icha Paradise book, and Sakumo with his hand folded across his chest most times, they still radiated that same aura of being aware of everything around them. They even had the same serious look in their eyes, although it was an almost permanent feature in Sakumo's eyes. she still found it hard to believe that this person had managed to defeat a member of Akatsuki on his own, that Jin had also defeated one on his own, and that the old man Taita, someone she had read extensively about in her younger years and adored, had also killed one member of Akatsuki, although sadly at the cost of his life. Just how strong were these people? She had read enough on Akatsuki - and with her status as Tsunade's apprentice and helper that was more than even ANBU knew – to know that they weren't pushovers.

"After so long," Gai said, "they are finally going to have a chance to settle their rivalry." Sakura was a bit worried about him by this point. She had never seen him so … down. He actually seemed worried, which was a bit confusing and disconcerting seeing as he had been nothing but confident when facing two S-class criminals, Itachi and Kisame, over seven years previously. This was something every mentor desired of their student; to be at their best. But the problem was, both the contestants were his students, and even though he had spent most of his time getting Lee up to scratch and shaping him into a great shinobi, with the help of his mentor Jin as the years went by, and Sanhana as well, Neji was still a beloved student, and so Gai must be at an impasse on deciding what to think about this match.

"Calm down, Gai," Kakashi said, his right eye momentarily resting on his old friend, comrade, and rival. His eye went back to his book. "Everything is going to be fine."

Just then, the dojo door burst open. A Chunin stood there, panting heavily, and there was a hint of fear in his eyes.

"The Hokage requests the presence of Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Lee Rock, Hyuga Neji, Akimichi Choji, and Inuzuka Kiba. Immediately." In a second, the Chunin disappeared in a puff of smoke, presumably on another errand for the Hokage. That explained the fear.

"Well," Kakashi said conversationally as he placed his book into his weapon's pouch, "it seems like this match will have to wait for another day."

XXX

It was Sunday, so naturally most of the villagers were resting. Even most ninja were off work. After all, unless you were in ANBU, very few missions were requested. Following this logical trail, people resting would include all kinds of leisurely activities, and people resting doing leisurely activities would include women relaxing, and women relaxing after a hard week would involve them taking a much needed dip at their nearest hot spring. And it was without much difficulty that Hiarashi managed to walk around Konoha looking for the one male who could be found in the female hot springs, the great pervert himself, Jiraiya, and find him. He was in a tree hiding amongst the dense foliage with a telescope in hand. She was about to walk up to him but then thought of a better way to execute her punishment, and it would also give her an edge in any discussions they might have.

She walked into the hot springs and paid her money. She took off her clothes and put on a bathrobe. She then went into the area with the hot springs. She chose the one on the outermost part of the establishment and took off her robe. She slipped into the hot spring and soaked there for a few minutes, relaxing. She talked with the other women, exchanging stories and gossip. It was great, just floating there and being a woman. All her life she had been consumed with the ninja world that she rarely got out of her role to be a person in the normal, un-militaristic world. But finally she came back to her plan and suddenly swiveled round and stood up.

In his tree, Jiraiya's smile transformed into a full blown grin as he got an eyeful – literally – of eye candy. He had been listening in on what the women were saying, and in his dazed state of research conducting, his ninja senses failed to pick up on a few odd things, like for instance how the woman who had just stood up seemed to know where he was when she hadn't even looked in his direction the entire time. Wait a minute. Was that blonde bimbo pointing in his direction?

"Pervert in the tree!" the blonde woman shouted, and Jiraiya got a sinking feeling as every woman turned to look in his direction. And it was at that moment that his body decided to get a cramp and he involuntarily moved his right leg to shake it off. Every woman saw a distinctive male leg wearing gata, wooden slippers. They all screamed and got up in one massive stampede and made for the safety of indoors. Jiraiya knew he had less than three minutes to get safely away to the other side of Konoha and lie low or else investigating ANBU and other ninja would find him, and Tsunade would not be happy if that happened. Not happy at all. He did the only thing he could. He turned and ran. Or at least he tried to. After a few steps, while still in the tree, he suddenly fell down. Something was gripping his right ankle, preventing him from moving. He looked down and paled as he saw a tongue wrapped tightly around his ankle. Things suddenly clicked into place; the sinking sensation he had felt earlier, the blond bimbo and her actions, the tongue. He knew the tongue well, and only two other people could have used it, and he knew for definite one of them was no where near Konoha.

"Shit," was all he could say.

"I'm glad you realize the amount of trouble you're in," a female voice said.

"What do you want?" he said miserably. After so long on the move and doing work he needed some relaxation time. He deserved it damn it!

"That's not very nice sensei." Hiarashi said. She stood under the tree, looking up at Jiraiya. The toad simply known as, ironically, Gama was standing beside her, his mouth open and his tongue stretched out into the tree and around Jiraiya's ankle.

"What do you want?" Jiraiya repeated. Hiarashi's innocent smile remained on her face, but a demonic look came into her blue eyes, a demonic look he had seen in two other pairs of the same colour blue eyes. He groaned. This wasn't his day.

"You have about five minutes before ninja come and investigate so I would be nice and polite if I were you."

"How can you do this to your sensei?" Jiraiya whined. "This is entrapment and blackmail." Hiarashi ignored these accusations, which were, coincidentally, true.

"You can start by telling me why you told Tsunade-sama not to allow me out of the village." Definitely not his day.

XXX

Tsunade looked at the ninja assembled in front of her. It was impossible to believe, but over the years they had become some of the best ninja in the village. Only experience made them lower in rank and skill than other ninja like Gai and Asuma.

"This is an S-rank mission," she began. For all except one, this would be their first S-rank mission. She continued with the briefing. "The civil war in Kirigakure has just finished, and with very peculiar results. For one, the victor is someone one of you has encountered before, the clan leader of the Hyougen clan, a certain Haku?" Sakura paled at the name, and Kakashi's eye widened.

"Impossible," the both said at once. Sakura continued. "We defeated her along with Zabuza in the Land of Waves. I saw Naruto kill her myself."

"Well she survived," Tsunade said bluntly. "So either you thought you killed her-"

"Or Naruto only pretended to kill her," Kakashi finished. "Sasuke was unconscious by then and Sakura was busy protecting Tazuna-san, so its feasible." He sighed and shrugged. Dwelling in the past would not help anyone.

"True," Tsunade nodded. "At any rate, what matters now is finding out as much as we can about Haku and the current affairs of Kirigakure and the Land of Water. This is the mission I am charging you with. Hatake Kakashi will be in charge of this mission, and Nara Shikamaru will be second-in-charge, but there will be two squads. The first squad will consist of Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Lee Rock and Inuzuka Kiba. The second squad will consist of Nara Shikamaru, Hyuga Neji, Akimichi Choji and Yamanaka Ino. Do you all understand?"

"Hai!" they all said.

"But," Sakura continued, "Ino isn't here, Hokage-sama." And it was true. The Yamanaka was not in the briefing.

"Don't worry about her," the Hokage said. "She'll meet you tomorrow when you depart from the Main Gates at ten o'clock. Dismissed." Everyone started to file out, but Sakura stayed where she was.

"Hokage-sama," she began but she was cut off.

"I said dismissed, Sakura," the Hokage said firmly. Her eyes were like steel. Although everyone knew what had happened to Ino seven years previously – an accident during a mission right in Konoha – only the Hokage was privy to the exact details. Ino was now only seen in passing, and never during the day. Ever since that incident. Sakura nodded. If anyone was going to find out exactly what was wrong with Ino, they would have to learn it from Ino. She went out of the office.

Tsunade sighed and sank gratefully into her comfortable chair. Sometimes she really though taking this job had been a mistake.

XXX

Ino walked round the dark room, sticking to the shadows. In the darkness it was difficult to pick her out. She seemed to blend in with the shadows, almost as if she was part of them. That was as it should be. After that incident seven years ago, she had gone temporarily insane. But with Tsunade's help, and that of her clan's great knowledge of the mind, and Ibiki's help, she had been healed, but the fear had never gone away, not even now. It was an interesting thing fear. It could spur people on, force them to great achievements, but it could also paralyze them in an instant, and kill them if it was great enough. She had slowly become fascinated with this the concept of fear, such an abstract thing. And so she had done the one thing she had never thought of in her entire life, the one thing no one ever though she would do simply because she was Ino, the girl who was obsessed with looks and all things superficial; she had gone to the master interrogator of Konoha and asked for an apprenticeship. Ibiki had been so shocked at first he had actually done the one thing no good interrogator would have and lost control of the situation; he had said, "Huh?". And it was true. What could he say when a thirteen year old kunoichi asked to be initiated into one of the deepest and darkest places of Konoha's Military, ANBU? Being an interrogator, you were given people to work with who could have information so vital it was for the Hokage's ears only, and there were a lot of people ready to slit your throat should you prove untrustworthy. That was no place for her.

But she had persisted, and finally after six months he had given in. Over the next few years though, Ibiki liaised with Ino's father and the hospital, checking up on Ino's mental state, on how she was holding up, and briefing her father on everything that was going on seeing as hers was a full time job. But after three years Ino had shown great aptitude for that profession, and with her family's special techniques at hand – techniques her father was grueling into her and she was excelling greatly at – and she rose in the ranks of ANBU. As an ANBU however, she needed to have more than one specialty, and so she had spent two years with other ANBU, going out into the world on missions, seeing for herself how people normally behaved and honing her skills. Sakura joined her on this two year course, and Ino, after all these years spent with dissecting the human mind, knew that the Hokage wanted her to have a friend and companion she trusted to help her keep up with the life on an ANBU agent. The same went for Sakura. And Ino had to admit that it had been nice having her old friend and rival with her, but it was also sad. In her years with Ibiki, she had slowly come to dissect her own life – after all, didn't a famous saying go something like "Know Thyself"? – And she had seen with new eyes her life in her genin days. Sasuke. She had finally seen the madness concealed within his soul, and the pain. And she had seen how Sakura truly cared for the boy, and how Team 7 was carefully balanced that Sasuke was always in check,. But Sasuke had finally slipped, and the madness and anger and pain had all been finally let out. And maybe it was the years subjugated to such madness, but Ino's connection with the normal world seemed to have been severed, and with it her affection for Sasuke. Now he was just another rogue that she would dissect without a second though should he be placed in front of her, just like this other poor vermin that in front of her now.

She went up to the man in the chair and let the feeble candlelight from the scone above the man illuminate her. It was a rudimentary technique used to scare people, and most times it worked. It did on this man. She felt pity that he had future of pain at her hands. She knew pain well. She did not wish it upon him, but it was her job. The man looked up at the intimidating woman and nearly wet himself. She had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, but a single, thick, lock of hair came down the side of her face, obscuring her left eye and casting half her face into shadow. Her visible eye was blue. She wore black ninja clothes, the same as every other ninja he had seen. Actually, hers were a bit different. They were more like the ones those ninja wearing masks had been wearing. She even had two katanas at her back. But on top of that, she wore a knee high purple _umanori_, a divided skirt, and she had a thick purple belt to bind it at her waist. She also wore a short purple cloak that only went down to her waist. It was typical of the human mind. It soaked up every bit of information it could from its surroundings just so as to escape the one thing it was shying away from; fear. Ino knew this. After a second, she shimmered back into the shadows.

"I don't know anything!" the man shouted. He was nothing but a lowly Chunin. He had been a Chunin for years. What was the point in making life harder for yourself by becoming a Jonin?

"What's your name?" the woman asked him. He paused for a second, utterly confused. What kind of question was that?

"Huh?" was all he could manage to say. Ino turned her back to him and looked down at the metal tray in front of her. It was large and silver, and contained all the tools of the trade. She nudged a scalpel that had shifted out of position. Order was always the sign of a good mind, and she knew all about minds.

"My name is Ino. What's yours?" the Chunin was utterly befuddled. For a moment he thought this might be some great trick, but then he detected a note of true curiosity in the woman's voice. She really wanted to know his name.

"… I … I am Tsurugi … Tsurugi Genma."

"Ah," Ino said without turning round. "You're from the Tsurugi Clan. But isn't the Tsurugi Clan one of the few travelling shinobi clans left in the world? Why are you wearing an Iwagakure hitai-ate?"

"It's not out of choice," Genma muttered, all his fear momentarily dissipated.

"You were forced?"

"Yes," he sulked miserably. "My entire Clan has been working as Iwagakure ninja for the past five years. They have our Clan leader, his consort, and the three heirs held hostage somewhere by the Iwagakure Council. In exchange for their continued existence, clan members are ordered to join the ranks of Iwagakure ninja and say nothing about the arrangement. Only a few remain who actually know of it seeing as the younger generation have been barred from the knowledge. Soon no one will be left who remembers, and our great Tsurugi Clan, we who follow the Way of the Sword, will be just another clan in Iwagakure." There was true bitterness in his voice, true anger and true fear. Ino slowly though through what she had learned from the man. There was a lot to be gleaned from his mannerisms, his body language, the way he spoke, and what he spoke off. Had he just mentioned that he was an unwilling member of Iwagakure? And wasn't there a certain Iwagakure ninja who was out for Hiarashi-san's blood? Maybe she could turn this around after all. Ino turned away from her instruments. She wouldn't need them. If she played it right, she wouldn't have to inflict pain at all and bring forth fear from this poor man.

"So tell me more about your family?" Ino said casually as she seemingly plucked a chair from the shadows. She put it down and sat just of the reach of the candlelight.


	3. Chapter 3: The Mission part 2

"Is everyone ready?"

"Hai!"

"Let's go, then."

Kakashi turned away from the Main Gates and started to walk. One by one, every member of his team joined him. Sakura, Lee, Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, and finally Ino all followed silently. They had all read the detailed brief of their mission. They now knew as much as Jiraiya on the situation going on in the Land of Water. They knew just how important it was. Sakura walked besides Kakashi, with Lee on her left. Behind those three walked Kiba, Neji and Shikamaru. And bringing up the rear were Choji and Ino. They walked a bit further behind the others than would have been advised for a ninja on a mission.

"Choji," Ino greeted. "It's been a while."

"I know," Choji said. "A year and half, isn't it?"

"Yes. We met at your Jonin celebration. Sorry I forgot to get you a present."

"It's alright," Choji said with a smile. "You probably would have gotten me one of those "Eat Healthier" self-help books anyway." Choji chuckled, and Ino couldn't help but smile.

"Anyway, how have you been?" he asked gently. "You always seem to be working with Ibiki or on some mission. We rarely ever see you."

Ino looked up at sky. "I'm fine," she said. Choji nodded and did not pursue that line of questioning.

"We should meet more regularly," he commented. "Team Asuma, that is, and our whole graduating class. Keep it touch. It saddens me that we're too busy to see each other anymore."

Ino looked at Choji and shook her head slightly. "You always did have a soft heart," she said, and although she spoke as an ANBU interrogator, her voice was gentle. Choji shrugged.

"The biggest heart of us all," Ino continued referring to their graduating class. Choji grinned at the compliment.

"Bigger than even Naruto?" he said jokingly. The moment he said it, he regretted it. Bringing up Naruto around Ino was not advised. Even now he saw she had stopped moving, her body was trembling, and her face was transfixed by horror and fear.

"Ok, now we increase the pace," Kakashi shouted to the group. "We'll run until evening, heading south west." Before anyone could say anything, Kakashi leapt away into a tree and started hopping, and the others had no option but to follow. Choji looked to his side at Ino. She was as impassive as ever. The fear was gone from her face. Her eyes slowly turned to face him. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, wordlessly communicating. After the seconds were over, Choji put on a bit of speed and caught up with Shikamaru, leaving Ino to her solitude and her thoughts.

"Don't worry," Shikamaru said, and his voice was quiet and serious. Choji looked at him with surprise in his eyes. As Shikamaru's closest friend, he knew the Nara shinobi more than anyone, even his own family, and he knew Shikamaru was rarely serious. "I will not let anything happen to my friends," Shikamaru continued. After a second, Choji nodded and turned his attention to the front. For seven years, Choji and Shikamaru had egged each other on, training hard and getting stronger so that they would never have to go through what they did during the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. That pain and suffering had opened their eyes to their own inadequateness. And then Shikamaru smiled his old easy-going self back once again. "We will do it together, Choji. We will help Ino through the darkness." Choji smiled and nodded in agreement.

Behind them Kiba turned to Neji. "Do you know why Kakashi-taichou is taking us to the south-west cost of Hi no Kuni, which happens to be the complete opposite direction of Mizu no Kuni?" Kiba sensed a long journey ahead, and wanting to conserve energy, he looked sideways to the little white dog running beside him and nodded. Akamaru gave a bark and started to grow in size until his shoulders went up to Kiba's ribs. Kiba jumped onto Akamaru's back and turned his attention back to Neji. Neji looked at Akamaru for a moment, thinking about how the dog had grown in seven years. Akamaru had finally mastered the last stage of his growth the previous year on a mission for ANBU. He was a pride of the Inuzuka Clan, and so was Kiba. He turned his attention back to the front.

"We cannot be seen going to Water Country, and so we have to deceive anyone who might catch sight of us."

"I understand that much," Kiba snapped. Was it a natural trait of all Hyuga to be so condescending? He was no simpleton, after all. He was a Jonin and an ANBU, just like Neji!

Neji's mouth curved slightly. The Inuzuka was always quick to anger, being part beast like his Clan.

"Sorry. I was just giving you my opinion on the matter so I thought it best to start from the beginning." Kiba's face flushed slightly and he muttered an apology. He never was good when there was no action abound.

"No matter," Neji said. "At any rate, we cannot afford to be seen or suspected. Stealth is of the importance. Water Country happens to be an isolated island, and recently the Daimyo increased his already powerful naval force, so getting in will be hard, even for us ANBU and Jonin. So the safest route in, in my opinion, will be the most circumventing. We will board a ship in one of the non-shinobi islands, perhaps Wave Country, and then arrive either on the southern or northern coast of Water Country because they are furthest from Kirigakure so there will be fewer ninja, though they will most definitely be more powerful than normal patrol ninja. And from there we will slowly make our way through Water Country, and if we are lucky and circumstances favour us, we might get into Kirigakure proper and investigate further. At least, that's the way I see it," Neji concluded. By this time everyone had listened in on Neji speculations, including Kakashi.

"Your eyes have much insight, Neji-san," Kakashi commented. "That is what we are going to do. We will charter a ship in Wave Country, and if he's still alive, an old friend will make sure we charter the right kind of ship. We will hopefully disembark on the northern coast and make our way to the east coast, then south, then west, then back north, moving in concentric circles until we come to Kirigakure no Sato. We will have to move fast because the Hokage wants a report as soon as possible so this will not be a full on spying mission. In and out as fast as we can is out objective, understood?"

"Hai!" they all said and increased the pace a bit more. It was only a few more hours until they hit the south-west coast of Fire Country.

XXX

"So that's what's going on," Hiarashi said.

"Yeah, pretty much," Jiraiya said while rubbing his ankle. He had forgotten how rough some toad tongues could be.

"Last time you heard where was this Iwa ninja?" she asked. She took her clothes from Gama's mouth and went behind the tree trunk. Gama stayed beside Jiraiya, all his attention fixed on the Perverted Hermit. Jiraiya gave the toad a sour look.

_That's loyalty for you,_ he though. _I manage to rescue the Gama Contract after centuries, earn the trust of the Gama Family, and yet the moment Hiarashi gets strong enough to summon him, Gamabunta goes ahead and gives her his blessing. Now the toads are as likely to listen to me as to her. Jeez._

"Well?" Hiarashi called from behind the safety of the tree trunk.

"He was on the borders of Rock Country," Jiraiya answered. "It's very hard to keep a fix on someone who's said to be on the level of the Sannin. And since I know so little about him, I cannot make a guess as to what he is going to do." Hiarashi came back from behind the tree trunk fully clothed in her ninja clothes. She adjusted her armour, making sure the pauldrons were in position over her shoulders. Jiraiya frowned. He never did like her dressing like that. It reminded him of how Konoha Nin used to dress in times of war, especially Tsunade. The two were so alike sometimes it scared him. Maybe that was why they always ended up fighting, just like Tsunade used to do with Naruto…

"You forget one thing," Jiraiya-sensei, "and that is the nature of all Iwa ninja. They are obstinate and obnoxious. This Kongou heir has been sent on a revenge mission and so he shall take the most direct route to me. He will go through the Land of Grass and enter Fire Country from the north-west."

"That is the stupidest analysis I have ever heard," Jiraiya said bluntly. _You may be strong,_ he thought, _but you still have quite a way to go before you can be Hokage the Council aspires you to be._ Out loud he said, "You cannot judge one person from the actions of the majority. He sounds like a slippery one to me." Jiraiya sighed and started to walk away. "Anyway my time here has drawn to a close. I have places I need to be. Later."

"Wait!" screamed Hiarashi. "I need you to convince Hokage-sama to let me go to find this ninja!" But Jiraiya had already disappeared. She stood there for several seconds but she could not sense him at all. She cursed.

_But I guess you aren't one of the Sannin, the strongest of them, for nothing. Good luck wherever you're going, sensei. I have a feeling you'll need it._

She turned round and started walking for the Hokage's tower. She did not look forward to the argument she'd have to make to get permission to leave.

XXX

"Ah, Hiarashi. I'm glad you're here. I was about to send someone to get you." All of Hiarashi's practiced and pent up frustration and arguments simply dissipated."

"Huh?" was all she could manage to say.

"I have a mission for you." Hiarashi's frustration returned but she swallowed it. The Hokage was going to sidetrack her by giving her another mission. It was probably some crappy C-rank. Her face expressed her emotions well. Tsunade ignored her. In the room were three other shinobi.

"Now that you are all here I can give you your mission brief. It's just a little reconnaissance mission." Hiarashi tried not to slump. Why couldn't she go and find the Kongou heir instead? She decided to give the Council a visit and see if they could change Tsunade's mind. After all she was defending her father's memory, her own life and Konoha's honour. Why shouldn't she go? Tsunade's gaze suddenly hardened.

"There is an Iwagakure ninja who has been reported to be heading toward Fire Country. Your mission is to ascertain whether he is or not, and if he is, ascertain his true intentions. You shall penetrate Iwagakure and find out what you can about him. If by chance you do run into him flee. He is dangerous, a Jonin, and reckoned to be among the strongest in Iwa. Plus we do not want to start a war. He might have been ordered here but then again he might not. Tread carefully. Understood?"

"Hai!" was the response from all four shinobi. Hiarashi suddenly felt a lot better. She smiled at Tsunade. She didn't know what had possessed the Hokage to change her mind but she wasn't going to enquire further. It was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Although the Hokage did not return the smile, her eyes twinkled slightly.

"But, Hokage-sama," Hiarashi said. "For such a mission shouldn't we have at least two ANBU? I don't mean any offence but two Jonin, a Chunin and a genin aren't exactly fit to infiltrate a possibly enemy shinobi village." Beside her Hyuga Hanabi and Ebisu stiffened. Questioning the Hokage was not wise as her temper was very fearsome, but Hiarashi's question was a valid one. What could the Hokage be thinking?

"You worry too much," Konohamaru said, his eyes closed and his arms behind his head. Hiarashi's gaze turned to him, and so did everyone else's. "We are enough to fulfill this mission's parameters. If we run into any problems we'll just have to swing it." Hanabi's mouth formed a scowl.

"I have to agree with Hiarashi-san," she said. "A genin on such a mission is highly … unorthodox." Konohamaru did not pay her any attention. He held his pose and his face had a faraway look. Hanabi's face darkened. He wasn't even paying proper attention and respect in front of the Hokage! The boy had no manners whatsoever. Ebisu sighed. Konohamaru was being rather troublesome today.

"Do you really think I would send a genin on such a mission if I did not think him qualified?" roared Tsunade, her eyes like steel. That shut up everyone. "My reasons are my own." She relaxed again and looked at Konohamaru. "We're quits now. I owe you nothing." Everyone sweat dropped. So he was only going because Tsunade had lost a bet? And this was their Kage? Heavens above…

"Fine," Hiarashi said. "Who'll be team leader?" that was quite a pickle. There were two Jonin, so technically the choice was between them. But there was also Ebisu, and even though he was still a Chunin he was older than the two shinobi and had a bigger and better track record than the other two as team leader and a shinobi in general.

"Ebisu will be," Tsunade replied. Hiarashi shrugged. Being on the mission was enough. Iwa and Konoha had been enemies, and were still technically enemies, and she would like nothing more than to rekindle the fear the name Namikaze had brought to them so long ago in the Ninja War. Konohamaru yawned.

"Whatever. I'll be going now. I'll meet you tomorrow at the Western Gate." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"**Kage Bunshin**?" both Hiarashi and Hanabi muttered. That was surprising. Tsunade sighed.

"I should have known he'd do something like that, the disrespectful runt," she muttered. "Dismissed!" she said louder. The ninja bowed and left. From the back of the room Shizune finally decided to speak.

"Are you sure its wise sending a genin on this mission?"

"His rank belies his power, Shizune. He lives up to Sarutobi-sensei's reputation. And you heard of his latest victory. At first I thought the kid was insane and Naruto's idiocy had rubbed off on him, but as he began to win every person he challenged I realized just how far he was coming. He will do well, don't worry." Shizune's fears were not abated. Konohamaru had been winning every fight he had. But of course very few ninja would actually acquiesce to fight the honorable grandson, and those that did were ninja who would not dare harm the honorable grandson. She very much doubted the kid had actually won. They had let him win. She'd heard as much in a bar a few days previously.

"So you let him go because of his strength then?" she asked.

"No," Tsunade said. "I let him go to pay a debt I owe." She went back to doing paperwork. Shizune's expression was comical. How could a Hokage even do something like that? Her mistress hadn't changed one bit.

XXX

Team Kakashi arrived on the northern coast of Water Country at night. It was a few hours before midnight and the moon was obscured by clouds. It was snowing heavily and it was immediately apparent their trail would be blindingly obvious. The snow might cover their tracks but they could not take the chance. They had to move slowly, covering their trail. How tedious.

"All right then," Kakashi addressed them all. "I shall take my squad and head west and Shikamaru will take his squad and head east. We shall meet on the southern coast in four days. In those four days mix among the populace and try to find out all you can about Haku, the civil war and the general attitude of this new government. I don't have to stress for you to be careful. Do you all understand?"

"Hai!"

"Then let's go."

XXX

"Mizukage-sama."

"Byakko-san," Haku acknowledged. She turned around and gazed at her most trusted follower. He wore white ninja clothing; white sandals, white trousers, a white shirt, a white sleeveless jacket with white fur trimmings, a white shuriken holster on his right hip, a white weapons pouch at his side and white fingerless gloves. His black hair and black eyes contrasted greatly with his white attire. In the north and west where it snowed greatly he would have been almost invisible, but further south and he stood out like a sore thumb. Byakko's face was impassive as he gazed at the Mizukage.

"Do you have to be so formal Byakko? I have had enough of formalities for one day. Dealing with matters of state is a bit stressful." Byakko's face was transformed as he dropped the impassive expression and smiled.

"I have to mind my manners now that you are the Mizukage. The old men from the Council would have a heart attack if I showed disrespect and that would not be good for a recovering village is its advisers started dying, now would it?" He chuckled lightly.

"You have a strange mind," Haku said, sighing as she sat down.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Inari said, joining her on the couch.

"So what brings you here, Inari? I'm guessing my fears have come true and some enemy ninja have come to infiltrate the country. Go on then, tell me the specifics."

"Sometimes your fore-mind scares me sensei," Inari said. "Two ninja squads were seen a few hours ago at the north coast, disembarking from a cargo ship. They split up, one squad heading west and one east. It seems you were right after all. Konoha has sent shinobi for some recon. It won't be long before other nations do the same."

"Konoha ninja eh?" Haku mused. "So they arrived at the north coast. Pity. Their strategy was a good one, taking such a circumnavigating route. Even my Hunter nins failed to pick up on them."

"Yeah," agreed Inari. "It's a shame after all that they disembark right at the lion's maw. They obviously didn't know our Hunter Training School is located at the north coast. They got off right during a training exercise as well! If it weren't for your orders not to engage any intruders, they would have gotten a rather nasty shock in the form of forty Hunter nins." Inari chuckled.

"Forty Hunter nins in training," Haku corrected. "Still," she agreed, "It would have been a shame. We do not need to start a war so soon."

"Yeah," agreed Inari. "I want to see that one eyed pervert again. And that pink haired girl has grown, if you know what I mean." Inari chuckled again, this time with a blush on his cheeks. Haku's gaze hardened. The room filled with killer intent so large Inari actually gagged.

"What have I said about your filth?" Haku asked calmly.

"I'm sorry!" Inari choked. The killer intent disappeared.

"So Kakashi-san and Sakura-san are with the ninja group," Haku mused. "You know what to do," she said over her shoulder. Seven shadows suddenly detached themselves from the walls. These were the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. "And please, no killing? Not that it will be easy. Konoha ninja tend to be quite tough. I want them here, alive. Understood?" there was no reply. The shadows merely melted into nothing. Haku felt the presence of the Seven Swordsmen disappear.

"Well," Inari said standing. "It would be quite disrespectful if the leader of the Seven Swordsmen wasn't there to meet the intruders. Besides, there is a Hyuga among them. I want to test myself against the famous Konoha Kekkei Genkai."

"Be careful, Inari," Haku warned mildly. "Hyuga are not to be taken lightly. And I might have made you the leader of the Seven Swordsmen but you are hardly the most powerful one. The Hyuga will most probably be a Jonin and therefore quite deadly. I don't want any unnecessary deaths."

"Thanks for the confidence Haku-sensei," Inari said pouting, but then just as suddenly he smiled. "But you forget something. I am in my territory. By the time I reach the Hyuga we might still be in the snow lands, and there are also many large bodies of water in the east, and then there is the coast itself. I will be in my element. It should even things out a little." Haku did not reply to that. She had learnt long ago not to make rational arguments with Inari when he was in such a mood.

"You're not fighting the Hyuga," Haku said. Inari did not argue any further. Haku's word was law. Haku continued, "Bring them here soon, Byakko."

"Hai, Mizukage-sama." Inari, also known as Byakko, The White Tiger, vanished. Haku sighed and went to sit at her desk. There were piles and piles of paperwork that had to be read through and responded to. Another late night, then. She got up from the couch and went back to her desk.

"Do you want to be here when they arrive?" Haku said absentmindedly as she read through a progress report on the rebuilding of a civilian village that had been unfortunate enough to be close to Kirigakure and therefore had been damaged extensively when Haku had launched her attack.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you sensed me," a female voice said from behind Haku. "Inari-san has grown. I think you did slightly underestimate him. His chakra coils are quite mature and he's grown confident from the boy who was too frightened to fight in a war."

"True," Haku said, stamping her approval for more funds to be used for the rebuilding of the civilian village, "but it never hurt to be cautious."

"Inari is one of the most focused and careful people I know when it comes to missions. That's the first reason you made him the leader of the Seven Swordsmen. They are all strong but also very bloodthirsty. There had to be a voice of reason among them." Haku sighed as she moved onto the next piece of paperwork.

"True again," she commented. She frowned as she read through the report. It did not take her more than a few seconds before she started seeing discrepancies in the report. Someone was trying to embezzle money from the treasury. She shook her head. The master architect was good, but he was also corrupt. He had flourished with the former Mizukage. So much fighting and destruction had made his services valuable. Unfortunately he had lost a chunk of his fortune in the war and it seemed he wanted his former luxury back. She carefully put the form aside and moved onto the next. "I guess I'm just worried."

Haku's visitor shrugged. "A valid reason. And to answer your question I'm not sure whether I want to meet former comrades. I'm technically no longer a Konoha shinobi, but I still feel a connection with the place and its people, even after all these years."

"As it should be," Haku said. "Now if you have nothing better to do than stand around behind me, you can help me with this paperwork." The visitor shrugged again and came to sit opposite the Mizukage. Her pupil-less lavender eyes connected with those of the Kage.

"Where is he?" Haku asked. The visitor shrugged noncommittally as she picked up a report.

"He's still in Rock Country. He hasn't communicated as yet but I guess his mission is going smoothly or else he would have requested back up by now." Haku nodded and turned back to her paperwork.

XXX

It was morning and Hiarashi was very angry. She wasn't the only one. Hanabi and Ebisu were very ticked off as well. They had been waiting for two hours and still there was no sign of Konohamaru.

"Honorable grandson or not," Hanabi said, "I'll teach him a lesson when he gets here." Suddenly a figure became apparent. Konohamaru walked toward the group with his hands behind his head, a piece of plant stalk hanging from his mouth. As he came closer Ebisu gaped at what he was wearing. Konohamaru was wearing robes like that of his grandfather, red and white Hokage robes, plus the red Hokage hat and on his, instead of the kanji for Fire; it had the kanji for The Will of Fire. The kid had even gone as far as to draw a mini triangle beard on his chin with black ink. Ebisu simply shook his head and started to walk off. Hiarashi took it all in and then followed Ebisu without a word. She had no time for childish pranks. Hinata was seething. First she had to put up with an unskilled sixteen year old genin, and now he dared mock the memory of the Sandaime by wearing this attire. Also he had practically jeopardized the mission. If anyone caught sight of him in this attire while they were in Rock Country their cover would be blown. As Konohamaru came up to her she glared at him. He winked with the playful smile on his lips.

"What do you think you are doing?" she said with calm she did not feel.

"Catching up with Ebisu-sensei and Hiarashi-san," Konohamaru said as he passed her, not bothering to stop. Hanabi let out a growl of frustration before turning and running after her fellow shinobi. She wondered if she could survive such a possibly long mission with the dead-last Konohamaru, a failure of the Sarutobi Clan.

XXX

Shikamaru signaled to his squad and they immediately stopped. All was silent around them. They kept still and silent for a minute. Neji used his Byakugan to scour the area. He found nothing. He gave a nod to Shikamaru.

"All right," Shikamaru said jumping onto the ground below. "We'll make camp here." The rest of the group jumped down. The clearing was quite small but shrubbery and trees covered them all round so they were safe. The only way they could be discovered would be if someone looked on them from up above.

"A good campsite," Ino said. She folded her legs underneath herself and sat down. Shikamaru paid that no heed and started giving out instructions. Because they were in foreign country on an infiltration mission they could not light a fire as that would give away their position. They had to make do with the cold packed food they had brought. Their packs also contained extra warm but light blankets so those would have to do in this cold climate. Once they got further south it would be much warmer but for now they had to just bear it. Apart from Shikamaru, the other three had been attached to ANBU. Ino was the only one who was still a member. They had learned how to tough it up. They would survive.

As they ate their food in silence Ino started evaluating her comrades. She felt like she barely knew them at all. She had never been close to Neji but her teammates felt alien to her. Choji looked at her and smiled.

"Thinking about old times?" he asked. Neji got up and dusted off his clothes.

"I'm going to secure the perimeter," he said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Yes," Ino replied to Choji as Neji left silently. "It used to be a lot simpler then." Choji shook his head.

"No," he disagreed. "We were just clueless back then. Now we've got greater responsibilities assigned to us."

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed. "Well, at least you do. Thankfully I'm still a Chunin so the worst I have to do is diplomatic work." He chuckled appreciatively.

"I thought Asuma-sensei forced you into ANBU," Ino enquired. Shikamaru shrugged. "I see you're as lazy as ever."

"I just don't see the point in making life hard. It just gets too troublesome after a while." Choji rolled his eyes.

"He can say that but you should see him sometimes when we're on missions. He changes completely. He's gotten better. Why do you think the Hokage made him…?" Choji suddenly stopped. In a flash he rose to his feet. Without a word his right hand extended and got bigger. He splayed his fingers and let him palm take most of the force from the giant water dragon. It was started to overpower him and his legs got bigger to compensate. Still the water dragon forced him back and finally he was thrown back full force into a tree trunk.

"Thanks, Choji," Shikamaru said. Ino was by his side. Choji had bought them time. It may have been precious little, but it was enough. Now they were prepared for this fight. Ino stood in between the two boys, outwardly calm. Shikamaru was on her right, slightly crouched, a kunai in his right hand. Choji was on the left on Ino, also slightly crouched, his face serious and his palms on his knees. A chuckle rang through the clearing.

"I see my **Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu** failed." The voice was male.

"They are well trained. And that portly one is better than he looks." Another male voice said this.

"They will make for an interesting fight." This voice was also male.

"Careful, brothers. The Mizukage ordered them brought to her alive." That caught Shikamaru's attention, and so did the fact that the person who spoke was female.

_Unfortunately I have no time to think about this. It seems like we have to fight._

Four figures in blue robes and wearing Kage like straw hats called gasa melted away from the shadows. Apart from an outline of their physique, nothing about them was visible.

"Don't disappoint us," the female said. She was the one who was in the middle. "It's been a while since we had an exhilarating fight." The blood thirst in her voice made Shikamaru and Choji pause. Even though they would not show it, they were already frightened of this kunoichi. She radiated a malice that they had never felt. Ino looked at the fellow kunoichi with anticipation in her eyes. The demure looking ninja seemed to hide a lot of power. And this killer intent she radiated that hung in the air like a smothering mist … it seemed she knew about fear. Ino's lips curved slightly.

"I shall take the kunoichi," Ino said. Shikamaru nodded.

_But that does not change the fact that we are outnumbered. Where is Neji? Oh well, I can take comfort in the fact that Neji is more valuable hidden. He would have noticed these three by now. He may well be hiding, trying to find the perfect opening to finish this. So that means us three are basically bait … jeez. So troublesome…_

"I'll take the two on the left," Choji said. He briefly made eye contact with Shikamaru and his nod assured the Nara that Choji had come to the same conclusion.

"So it seems like I shall be you opponent," the ninja on the far right said. His physique was lean and compact, and he seemed rather calm compared to the open anticipation of his fellow ninja.

"Enough talk! Let's fight!" The bulkiest of the ninja ran toward Choji, his robes making no sound. Choji ran forward to meet him.

XXX

Kakashi's squad was also facing similar troubles. It had been only moments before they had been making their way from a village. It was night but still Kakashi insisted they keep up their **Henge no Jutsu**. You could never know when the enemy was watching.

"This is such a drag," Kiba moaned. "None of my ANBU missions have ever been this boring." Akamaru barked in agreement. Because of this mission, Kakashi had ordered Akamaru to stay in his smallest form, the little white dog that he had been as a puppy. A very large white dog would have drawn attention in this particular part of Water Country. Only the rabid wolves or half-breeds of the mountains were Akamaru's preferred size and colour.

"I disagree," Lee said with his usual zest. "Different missions have different objectives and requirements. This particular mission would require patience and a master of stealth, like Kakashi-san here. We are required all our skills to gather information on anything relating to Haku, her past or this new government. Considering that Hunter-nin are rampant throughout the country and that the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist have been reformed after over a decade, this mission will not be as easy as it appears to be now. Konoha requires this information so that the Hokage can make the right decision about what step to take next. That is what being in the ANBU Black Ops is all about, right, Kakashi-san?" Lee flashed his toothy smile.

"Even so," agreed Kakashi. "And since you seem so bored Kiba, you can scout ahead for us. I wouldn't like running into trouble now. It's dark and we do not know the terrain, not to mention that if a fight sparked up now we're close enough to Kirigakure no Sato to be spotted by patrols. We are at a great disadvantage." Kiba's face fell, but then simultaneously Akamaru started barking and Kiba stopped moving, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Too late for that," Kiba said after a pause. "Several scents are headed straight for us from the west, and Akamaru senses very large chakra signatures and killer intent. I would guess that we have somehow been discovered, but as to how they knew exactly where we were … I don't know." Sakura started at this new information. West was the direction from which they had travelled from the previous day. That meant that these pursuers were following some sort of trail. But what trail? Between Kakashi-sensei's expertise, his Sharingan, and Kiba's keen senses they had managed to destroy any sign of their passing. Kakashi remained silent for a moment, thinking. Finally he pulled out a map from one of the pockets in his vest.

"How long until they catch us up?" Kakashi asked Kiba. Akamaru and Kiba conferred in whispers as they concentrated their senses on the approaching trouble.

"Five minutes," Kiba finally answered.

"I see … well since we have already been discovered, the only chance of us overcoming such strong opponents would be to battle at the ground of our choosing. We do not know anything of our opponents though so this is going to be a bit tough but we need to escape capture at all costs. We do not want to start a war; the Hokage was very specific on that." He briefly looked at the map before nodding to himself. "Since they are likely to be Kiri ninja their jutsu arsenal will most likely consist of **Suiton jutsu** so going north is not an option … the same goes for west … so our only option would be south. There are a lot of trees in this part and as Konoha ninja we'll be in our element there." Kakashi rolled up the map and replaced it in his Jonin vest.

"Let's go!" he ordered.

XXX

"**Baika no Jutsu**!" Choji shouted. The Multi-Size technique. He formed the secret Akimichi seal and he began to grow in size. At the same time he jumped into the air and formed another secret Akimichi seal.

"**Nikudan** **Hari** **Sensha**!" The Spiked Meat Tank Technique. Choji drew his knees into his stomach and bent over so that he was a ball shape. His hair hardened and grew, wrapping around his body. Spinning, Choji plummeted down and impacted on the running enemy ninja. The ground shook with the force of the attack so much that all the other ninja jumped into the surrounding trees. When the dust cleared there was a large crater on the ground with Choji's right in the middle. The hair retreated and the Multi-Size technique was dispelled. Choji straightened and jumped back, his eyes on the still form in front of him. The other three enemy ninja jumped down and landed next to their teammate.

"Get up," said the woman. The man in the crate grunted and slowly got up. His nose was bleeding. He wiped it and looked at Choji with a murderous and yet expectant expression.

"He uses secret Clan seals, but his execution of his techniques is fast, and his girth belies his general speed. I wouldn't be surprised if the others are just as gifted."

"You give them too much credit, Daisuke," the woman scoffed. "I saw through that attack. You're the one who's too stupid to see through such obvious attacks. Now get up. I suggest we all relocate. I want my share of the blood before we drag their bodies before Mizukage-sama."

"The Mizukage wants them unharmed, Kasumi," pointed out Daisuke.

"And it would be unwise to anger the Mizukage," said the small, silent ninja who hadn't spoken at all.

"Be silent, Daichi!" Kasumi.

"He's right, though, Kasumi," said the other large ninja.

"You know what she gets like, Kenta, once she gets a taste of battle." Daichi said.

"I said be quiet!" Kasumi took a few breaths before turning to the Konoha shinobi. "Are you willing to come quietly?" she asked.

"Of course," Shikamaru said, jumping down from the tree branch he had been standing on. That caught everyone off guard, apart from Choji. He knew what Shikamaru thought like. He had already drawn the same conclusions himself. Ino looked disappointed, and so did Kasumi.

"Just like that?" she asked. "No fight? Nothing?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"We are in foreign country and we are outclassed. I recognise the robes you are wearing. You are members of the Seven Swordsmen, the greatest shinobi in Water Country. We might give you a hard time winning, but in the end you would win. And what would that accomplish? We didn't come here to start a war." Kasumi nodded in understanding but still she looked disappointed. Inside, however, she was smiling. She knew exactly what was going through the Konoha shinobi's mind. They didn't know that Kiri knew all about them. They thought they still had the advantage of anonymity. What a shock that would be in the end.

"You're smarter than you look," Kasumi noted. She turned to Daichi.

"Go and report to the Mizukage." They made eye contact for a second before Daichi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"A question," Shikamaru asked. "You seem to fear the Mizukage greatly. Why is that? She must be as scary as our Hokage." _Women…_ thought Shikamaru. Why were they so scary?

_Wherever you are Neji, don't let us down,_ Shikamaru thought. _We are counting on you to set us free, and should that fail, we are counting on you to escape and report whatever you find to the Hokage._

"Why shouldn't we?" Daisuke said. "After all she only just defeated the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen at the same time, single-handedly. The Konoha shinobi started at that. Just how strong was Haku? Eight years previously she had been nearly as strong as Kakashi. In that time she had gotten stronger exponentially. To be able to defeat all Seven Swordsmen at the same time? Wow…

Two hundred metres away, standing behind a tree trunk, with his Byakugan activated, Neji had seen the entire battle and had come to his own conclusions.

_So …_ he thought. _This is what it's come too_. Without a sound he disappeared. Kasumi stopped moving for a moment. Slowly she turned in the general direction Neji had been hiding at. She slowly smiled.

_Whoever you are, wherever you are, Hyuga, you are good. Very good. But are you better than Neko-sama? I await that fight eagerly._

XXX

Kakashi stopped running and signaled to Sakura, Lee and Kiba. In front of them were four figures dressed in water blue robes and wearing straw gasa hats that covered a third of their faces. Kakashi hid his consternation but he could not help but wonder how their pursuers had gotten in front of them. Kiba also looked confused. He hadn't smelt anything. How could they have evaded his very powerful sense of smell? And then suddenly it hit him.

"Their water clones!" he shouted. Immediately all four Konoha shinobi jumped away from where they were standing. A second later a hail of kunai with explosive tags attached thudded into the ground and exploded. Dust and smoked billowed up obscuring everything from view. When it cleared the same four figures were in view but this time Kiba could smell them.

"I see," said Kakashi. "The water the water clones were made up of washed away any scent and they weren't composed of much chakra so we couldn't sense them … very clever."

"Thank you … Hatake Kakashi," said the middle figure. It was the smallest of the group. In fact the person was so short that if Kakashi did not know what ninja these people were he would have sworn the figure was a genin or chunin.

"You know who I am?" asked Kakashi. "So it's only fair that I know who you are." The figure laughed.

"You don't remember me? I'm hurt, Kakashi-san." Kakashi pulled off the part of his hitai-ate that covered his Sharingan eye but even with it uncovered he could not make out any detail about this person he recognised. And yet something tugged at his memory, some forgotten detail.

"It won't work, Kakashi-san," the figure said. "You have never gazed at me with your Sharingan eye so it won't help you much. Besides, I've changed a lot since we last met."

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked. Behind him Sakura flexed her fingers, her black leather gloves squelching slightly; Kiba was slightly bent over so that his centre of gravity was close to the ground; Akamaru stayed hidden within Kiba's black jacket; and Lee simply stood in a relaxed posture but his face, rarely enough, was serious.

"For now you may know me as _Byakko_, the White Tiger of the Hidden Mist."

"The Mizukage's right hand man," Sakura said her body tensing. He was sure to be a dangerous opponent, then.

"Exactly, Sakura-san. I'm sure that delightful Perverted Hermit has told you quite a bit about me and my sensei." This caused even more shock and Kiba tensed even more. He could smell the tension in the air and the battle fever roiling off the robed Kirigakure ninja. Sakura started. This person knew who she was? The small figure laughed again.

"I'm afraid the time for idle chatter has passed. The Mizukage has ordered you to be brought before her. What is your response?" Kakashi did not say anything. He merely shifted into a battle stance. Byakko nodded.

"As I thought. You'd rather fight and escape than risk starting a war. Logical. Well, as luck would have it we Swordsmen haven't had a tantalizing fight in quite a while but the great Sharingan Kakashi, the Hokage's star student, the Second Great Beast of Konoha and the prodigy of the Inuzuka Clan will prove quite a challenge." Byakko laughed again, and by this time the Konoha-nin knew they were severely disadvantaged. The enemy seemed to hold all the cards and possessed valuable information.

"By the way, I realize you sensed us and decided to choose the battle-field of you choice to improve your chances, which is very smart, but it was a futile attempt nonetheless."

"How so?" Kiba asked. He didn't like where this was going. Akamaru shivered within his jacket. He sensed a great amount of chakra. The other three Kiri ninja placed their hands upon Byakko's back. Byakko's hands flashed unbelievably fast through hand seals. Kakashi's Sharingan could follow but because he could not comprehend the seals he instantly knew two things; one was that Byakko was using a special jutsu that had a special requirement, possibly blood in the form of a contract; two was that it required quite a huge chunk of chakra, which is why the other three were giving Byakko some of their own chakra so that Byakko wouldn't be overly tired. That also meant that the jutsu would be much stronger than normal. This wasn't good…

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Tenma Numa!**" The Summoning technique: Demon Lake. Byakko took a deep breath and his stomach and cheeks swelled to unprecedented proportions. After a pause he suddenly spit out a rushing torrent of water that filled the entire clearing and beyond. Kakashi and his team jumped up into the surrounding trees. With growing dread they watched the water form a circular lake one mile in diameter. Byakko wasn't finished however. He formed several more hand seals, and so did the other three ninja. In a second a sword materialized in each of their hands. They were all zanbatos of differing shape and proportions but it was Byakko's sword that caught Sakura and Kakashi's attention. It looked exactly like Zabuza's zanbato.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked again. Byakko merely chuckled.

"You will remember me soon enough," he said before all four Kiri ninja disappeared. Sakura pulled out a kunai, twirled it as she brought it up and blocked a downward cut from one of the shinobi. She gritted her teeth. The strength behind the swing was unbelievable. But then again, she though with satisfaction, she was the apprentice of the Hokage. She had her own strength. With a shout she pushed forward and threw back her own opponent ten metres. Her opponent landed without a sound on the lake's calm surface.

"You are very strong, Sakura-chan." Sakura blinked in surprise. The voice had been female. But surely weren't these the Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, emphasis on the men? In that moment of confusion her opponent attacked again, her zanbato slashing left and right with ease and deadly speed. And yet Sakura managed to avoid the blows without any trouble. The Kiri kunoichi stopped.

"You are truly a medical ninja and the apprentice of the famed Hokage. Your eyes miss nothing. Your defense is impeccable. Your strength and speed are good. I can see that I will have to fight you with all my power if I'm to win. My name is Sayuki, by the way."

XXX

Meanwhile Kiba had jumped backwards from the sword slash that had been aimed at his neck. He avoided several more attacks, all the while making sure that Akamaru remained hidden and undiscovered. He could use Akamaru for a quick and decisive surprise attack that would end this battle. From then on he could help the others and hopefully they would defeat their opponents. He noticed that his current opponent was none other than Byakko himself, the White Tiger of the Hidden Mist. He wondered how such a small figure could lift such a large weapon, let alone wield it with such ease and skill. Byakko stopped his attack.

"Come, Inuzuka. Stop holding back. This is not your fighting style, I can tell. Bring your full power to bear. That is the only way you can defeat me."

"And what do you mean by that?" asked Kiba.

"How do you think we located you so easily?" countered Byakko. When Kiba shrugged Byakko put his zanbato in his left hand and pointed at Kiba's chest.

"How many dogs do you think are in the Bingo Book, Inuzuka Kiba?" Kiba paled. So all this time they had known? He smiled. It didn't matter.

"What's so amusing?" Byakko asked.

"The thought of you being dog meat," Kiba answered. A large white dog came out of the water behind Byakko and sunk its fangs into his neck. Kiba chuckled. He reached into his black jacket and drew out his weapons pouch. He had switched Akamaru and the pouch right after Byakko's first attack. Akamaru had slipped into the water silently. And now the enemy was moments away from death.

Now it was Byakko's turn to smile.

"What's so funny?" Kiba asked.

"A good shinobi learns his enemy's moves after only seeing them once," Byakko answered. He slowly reached into his robe and pulled out a piece of cloth. Kiba could smell Byakko's scent on the cloth. Kiba was confused, and then everything became clear as the water clone threw the piece of cloth into the water. Kiba lost the scent. This meant…

Byakko suddenly turned into water and dropped into the lake. Kiba tensed as he felt cold metal touch his neck. Byakko was standing behind Kiba and suddenly plunged his zanbato downward into Kiba's shoulder … and Kiba turned into a log. Behind him Byakko heard chuckling.

"You underestimate me," Kiba said.

XXX

Lee bent back from the sword slash and then contorted his body several more times as he evaded attack. Out of the backpack on his shoulders he pulled out two metal sections and connected them together to make a metre long straight metal rod. It was a hanbo, although hanbo were normally wooden and ninety centimeters long. Lee held the half-staff right in the middle and used it to fend off the attack by the Kiri ninja. The ninja jumped back onto another branch. He stuck his sword into the ground and smiled at Lee and he formed hand seals.

"A Great Beast indeed," the Kiri ninja said, his sharp teeth glinting. "A ninja is not a ninja unless he can use ninjutsu. You cannot even use chakra as I heard. How you became a Jonin is beyond me. I thought the Leaf Village had better standard, but then again it has always been a weak village… **Suiton: Suigagan!**" The Water Release: Water Fang Bullet. Five small whirlpools formed below Lee before five tendrils suddenly shot up and went towards Lee. Lee had no time to react for the jutsu was too fast and all he could do was twirl his hanbo to stave off three of the water tendrils. Two came up from behind him and pushed him forward. Lee dropped into the lake. The Kiri ninja picked up his sword and smiled.

"You are mine now. It would be better if you surrendered. There is no way you can fight when you cannot even stand up to fight. Did you really think that you could become a shinobi on taijutsu alone? Puh, sickening. You aren't even worth my time." Lee looked up at one of the Seven Swordsmen and his expression was stoic.

_It seems like I have no choice. Gai-sensei, Jin-sensei … I have to use that technique if I am to win. He is one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, after all._

The water around Lee suddenly started to pulse. The Kiri ninja raised an eyebrow. If he didn't know any better … no, it was impossible. The facts spoke for themselves. The kid couldn't even use chakra. But why did he look like he was slowly rising out of the water then? The Kiri ninja watched in shock as Lee rose out of the water until he was standing on top of it as if he was on solid ground.

"How?" the ninja named Genta asked. Lee merely twirled his hanbo.

"For those who work hard," he said, "anything is possible."

XXX

Byakko looked up at the double-headed wolf in front of him and smiled. Winning this fight was not going to be easy. The Inuzuka was talented and strong, and it did not help that the dog was as intelligent and strong as his master, which meant that Byakko was not fighting one but two opponents. Byakko tucked the hilt of his sword into his armpit and started to form seals. Suddenly he stopped as he felt something within his head. He sighed. They had tarried here long enough. He looked left and saw Kakashi and Yasuo engaged in a Kenjutsu fight so intense even his eyes could not follow all the movements. His respect for Kakashi rose for all of the Swordsmen were Kenjutsu experts, possessed great speed and great strength and were experts at Suiton jutsu. You had to be all these to be simply considered for the position of a student, let alone an actual Swordsman. And it was without a doubt that Yasuo was the strongest of the Seven Swordsmen. And yet here was Kakashi, holding his own. It was shame he would not get to watch the rest of the fight. It was a shame none of them would finish their fights.

"Swordsmen!" Byakko called. Within seconds all three Swordsmen appeared at Byakko's side, and seconds later the Konoha ninja appeared before him. Sayuki possessed several cuts on her robe and Genta had a lump on the side of his head.

"Running away?" Kiba asked. Byakko laughed.

"Of course not. I have just received summons from the Mizukage so I'm afraid we must cut this spar short." The Konoha Nin paused. How had he been contacted?

"And you think we're just going to come silently or are you going to leave us be?" Sakura asked.

"Neither," he replied. "Did you for a moment wonder why this summoning this lake required so much chakra, why it had to be a special summon in the first place instead of a normal jutsu or why it's called a Demon Lake?" Their silence told him all he needed to know.

"It took me a while to create the contract for this jutsu, and quite some effort to get it signed. But put simply this Lake contains a creature whose will I can call upon at any given time." Byakko formed fast seals and in an instant the Konoha shinobi were encased in purple balls of water.

_Damn it!_ Kakashi cursed. _Fighting that Swordsman has dulled my reactions. I have used the Sharingan too much. And this purple prison looks tougher than the Water Release: Water Prison technique. I've been caught off guard. These guys are good._

"This jutsu is my endgame move. It is inescapable. And now you shall sleep and my comrades and I shall bear you to Kirigakure. Your other comrades are already waiting … apart from the Hyuga, that is. The Mizukage has a special plan for him." Byakko smiled and that was the last thing the Konoha Nin heard before they went unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4: The Mission part 3

"Why do you wear that ridiculous outfit?"

They had been travelling for a week and were now safely tucked away within a cave in the Land of Earth. Just outside the cave opening the famous winds of Earth Country that could lift whole boulders were raging havoc. But the cave was quite deep and meandering so the bulk of the noise was mercifully cut off. It had been Ebisu's order to take cover the moment a strong breeze started. One of these wind storms had been known to destroy entire villages by depositing huge boulders and rocks. He did not want to take any chances. The moment the wind died down they would move on to the Clan dwelling of the Kongou Clan. But for now they were getting as much rest as they could. They had gone over all their plans and back-up plans, had covered every hole and happenstance that could go wrong and now all that was left was to get on with it. But this being her first such mission Hanabi was finding that she quite tense. What would happen if they were captured? Would they be tortured? Would they escape but instead start a war? Would they be killed? She found part of herself wondering why the Hokage had not just simply sent ANBU to gather the information, or why the Kongou heir had not been waited for and eliminated the moment he stepped onto Fire Country soil.

So to sidetrack herself she had looked upon her comrade on this mission; Sarutobi Konohamaru. He was a true mystery. At the age of fifteen he was still a genin, one of the oldest genin Konoha had. As he had grown up many people had looked at his progress with interest. He was after all the honorable grandson. Would he be as talented as his grandfather, the god of all shinobi, Sandaime Hokage? But when he had turned thirteen and had not even taken the slightest bit of interest in taking the Chunin Exams, many people started wondering. Was he perhaps weaker than they had thought? He had indisposed himself for a while so his team had gotten a replacement genin for while, allowing them to take the Chunin Exams. Konohamaru's teammates Udon and Moegi had failed, twice, but on the third try they had made Chunin at the age of fourteen. Konohamaru did not seem to care for he went on with his ninja career with Ebisu, the two going on solo missions now that there was only one member left from Team Ebisu.

By this time many people avoided Konohamaru and only called him "honorable grandson" out of respect of the Third. It was quite clear that Konohamaru did not have any genius when it came to being a ninja. He was just another normal shinobi. Just like the person he emulated, Uzumaki Naruto, Konohamaru had grown quite bold, if quiet. He challenged several shinobi now and then to a fight, and those who watched saw just how normal his skills were. But afterwards, maybe out of embarrassment and shame, the shinobi would teach Konohamaru something in order to improve the boy's skills, mostly a jutsu or another. The past year and a half all the shinobi the "honorable grandson" challenged were all ANBU – evens though only a few people realized this, and none took it to be more than coincidence – and he must have learnt something from them because he had won his fight against an Academy Instructor, a chunin, a few months previously. But to Hanabi Konohamaru remained an ordinary shinobi with no talent, someone who was an embarrassment to his Clan. He was lazy. He had not even once tried to enter the Chunin Exams. All he did was go on normal missions for the Hokage. Normal boring missions no doubt, like catching that darned cat! By now most genins were of the opinion that there was some sort of conspiracy between Konoha and the Daimyo's wife to purposefully let that cat go on purpose to test all genin.

"Hmm?" Konohamaru said turning his attention to her. He was laid on the ground, one leg over the other and he still had that grass stalk in his mouth. His arms were behind his head, supporting it.

"Why do you wear Hokage robes?" Hanabi asked. "It's a mockery to the Hokage. You are not worthy to wear those robes."

"True," Konohamaru said nonchalantly, "but one day I will be. I wear them to remind me of my goal."

Hanabi sneered. "You? Worthy to wear those robes? Never! You are as normal a shinobi as they come. There is no way you will grow strong enough to become Hokage." Konohamaru shrugged and did not reply as if to say "your opinion does not matter". Hanabi's eyes narrowed. A bit to the side Hiarashi and Ebisu watched passively the exchange between the two shinobi.

"You are a disgrace to your clan-" Hanabi began.

"You've already told me this," Konohamaru reminded her.

"- and you would do better not to draw anymore attention to yourself. Your grandfather must be turning in his grave to have such a grandson. You have no motivation whatsoever! One would have thought wanting revenge on Orochimaru for killing the Sandaime would be enough, but no. You couldn't care less." Hanabi did not know what it was about Konohamaru that always got her so angry. Konohamaru, for his part, became very still. Slowly he turned his head and looked at her straight in the eye. Hanabi smirked.

"Looking at me with such a scary face won't do anything," she mocked. Then, to her surprise, Konohamaru smiled. His eyes filled with pity as he gazed at her. He opened his mouth to say something, but after a second seemed to think about it and relented. He returned his gaze to the top of the cave, completely ignoring her. He suddenly cocked his head to one direction. He seemed intent on something. He slowly stood up and went to stand by the mouth of the cave. He stood there for a minute before he suddenly whirled to face Ebisu.

"We have to leave here, now," he said, all trace of humour gone from his face. "A ninja squad, definitely Jonin, have discovered our trail. They are about three miles to the north-west and they are moving fast." Ebisu did not even blink. He nodded curtly.

"Thank you, Konohamaru," he said as he stood up. "Come on," he addressed Hanabi and Hiarashi. "We're moving out."

"Why?" Hanabi asked. "What's going on?" She activated her Byakugan and did a quick search. "I don't see anything."

"Would that be because the range of your Byakugan is not even over a kilometre?" suggested Konohamaru. There was no trace of humour or mirth in his voice but Hanabi took offense at any rate.

"How can you trust what he says?" Hanabi asked. "There is no way he could know this. He's just imagining things." Ebisu rounded on her but it was Hiarashi who spoke.

"Hanabi," Hiarashi said. "No matter where the information has come from, your squad leader has given you an order. Follow it." Hanabi stood there for a moment before she nodded and packed up her stuff. Bloody murder burned in her eyes at how Konohamaru had embarrassed her. Ebisu gave a curt nod to Hiarashi before addressing his team.

"Hanabi will take point and scout ahead for us. I will be right behind her, ready to offer support should the need arise. Hiarashi will be behind he and Konohamaru will be bringing up the rear. Is that understood?"

"Hai!"

"Then let's move out."

XXX

"They are not far ahead," one Iwa ninja said.

"Good. It means we'll catch up before tonight is over," the squad leader said.

"Who are they and what do they want? They must be skilled to have avoided the patrols for this long."

"However skilled they may be," the leader said standing up from his crouch, "we'll find them and eliminate them. Move out!"

"Hai!" came the shout and four shadows disappeared from the forest floor.

XXX

"The four Jonin are three hundred metres behind us, Ebisu-taichou," Konohamaru reported as the Konoha squad moved closer to the Hidden Rock Village. "What are your orders?"

"We have to get into Iwagakure unnoticed," Hiarashi said. "Once in there it will be easy to hide."

"Not so," Ebisu said. "Remember that Iwagakure's security is only second to Amegakure. It wouldn't take much to discover that the enemies the ninja squad behind us is pursuing are the same enemies that entered Iwagakure. And once word reaches the Tsuchikage that there are enemy ninja in his Village it will only be a matter of time before we are captured." He went quiet, thinking. It was obvious to all of them. The only way they could enter Iwa and not be detected was to make sure the jonin behind them did not raise the alarm. They ran out of forestry to jump across and so jumped to ground. Iwa was perhaps a mile ahead.

"Go," Konohamaru said. "I'll take care of them." Ebisu looked at him hard for a moment.

"So it's time, then?" he asked.

Konohamaru nodded and replied, "I've been feeling it for a while now. It's time." Ebisu nodded in understanding.

"Well things are certainly getting fun," he muttered. "Move out!" he ordered Hiarashi and Hanabi. Without a word of protest the two kunoichi started running toward the Hidden Rock Village. Konohamaru looked at them for a minute before turning round. Four ninja met his gaze. They were smiling.

"Well, well," the leader said. "If it isn't the "Hokage"" They all laughed at this. Konohamaru's impassive expression did not change.

"You should have more respect for the ninja who dons these robes," he commented. At that all four of them gave him hard looks.

"I've heard of you," one of them said, "The "honourable grandson" of Sarutobi, the so-called God of Shinobi. He was nothing more than a weak old man. Konoha ninja have always been weak. If it weren't for the fact that we are otherwise occupied, we'd have showed you that our Iwa is the strongest Village and our Tsuchikage the strongest shinobi there is!" Konohamaru blinked.

"Couldn't you have been more original?" he said after a moment's pause. "This whole "we're-better-than-you" routine is really getting tiresome to hear." The four jonin growled at him.

"It's time to teach you some manners, boy!"

"Another cliché," Konohamaru commented. That was the last straw. The four ninja disappeared. Konohamaru brought his hands before him and performed hand seals so fast they were nothing more than a blur. As the four ninja reappeared behind him, he poured chakra through his feet and into the ground. "**Doton: Doryu Taiga no jutsu**," he said. The Earth Release: Earth Flow River technique. The four ninja suddenly found the ground under them turn liquid and they were carried forward, past Konohamaru, and back to their original position. The mud river was in danger of drowning them.

"You think this measly technique will stop us?" the squad leader said as he started forming seals. Konohamaru instantly recognised them and smiled.

"That will avail you nothing," he said as he formed his own set of seals faster than the Iwa ninja. "**Doton: Doryudan no jutsu**." An earthen dragon rose up from beside Konohamaru and started firing earthen balls at the ninja. "**Katon: Karyu Endan**." Konohamaru breathed out a large beam of intense white flame engulfed the earthen balls and when it subsided the earthen balls were on flame. For the first time fear and indecision appeared in the faces of the ninja. Mixing a fire and earth technique like this? It was unheard of … apart from the great Sarutobi, of course, but surely those had only been rumours…

"I see you are beginning to appreciate the dire circumstances you are in," Konohamaru said. The four ninja were riddled with Konohamaru's jutsu and cried out in pain. When the jutsu was complete they stood there, burnt and bruised. "Good."

XXX

Ebisu, Hiarashi and Hanabi were lucky. As they got nearer to Iwagakure, they saw a wagon chain reaching the gates. It seemed like some important people were visiting the village. Being high caliber ninja, they performed Transformation techniques and joined the wagon chain as simple guards, without alerting the guards themselves. Once inside the village Hanabi had warned them that a four man squad was shadowing them so they had had to keep up pretences a bit longer until they had the perfect opportunity to slip away.

"That was easier than I thought it would be," Hiarashi commented an hour later when they were all sat in a bar having a meal.

"Infiltrating a location is not the difficult part," Ebisu said. "It's staying undetected that will raise issues."

"True," Hiarashi said. She had held doubts about Ebisu being the squad leader, although she had kept silent out of desire to get out of the village and onto this mission. But now she had seen that Ebisu was a more than capable squad leader. In fact, from what little she had seen from him, he had the necessary skills to become a jonin. Why hadn't he? And another thing was that Konohamaru kid. Something about the way he operated had ringed bells in her head. She had no doubts in her mind that the brat was skilled. What jutsu had he left in their wake to sense those pursuing jonin? And the way Ebisu had left him to take care of them on his own like that. She had gauged Ebisu's personality and knew he would not take unnecessary risks. He must firmly believe that Konohamaru could eliminate those jonin. If that was true, that meant that Konohamaru had also been holding out and hiding his skill. Why would sensei and pupil do that? Something was going on here that she didn't fully understand.

"You should have left me to deal with those jonin," Hanabi said for the umpteenth time.

"Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about Konohamaru," Ebisu said with a smile on his face, a smile Hiarashi knew so well. She frowned at her squad leader. Too bad she couldn't harm the pervert. Not yet, anyway.

"You don't know any better," Hanabi said flatly. Ebisu laughed and Hiarashi grinned. "I just think that I would have been a better choice than that spineless wimp."

"He may be more skilled than you think, Hanabi-kun," Hiarashi said. She leveled a gaze at Ebisu, a gaze which the ninja met with a smile.

"There's no doubt about that," Ebisu said before he turned back to his meal. Hiarashi and Hanabi frowned. They were being kept in the dark about Konohamaru and they knew it. Just what was the boy hiding?

"You three," a commanding voice suddenly said. All three Konoha ninja turned to look toward the door of the bar. A ninja wearing an Iwa hitai-ate, a jonin vest and a katana at his back slowly approached them. "Were you part of the wagon chain that just entered the village?"

"…Yes," Ebisu finally replied after a few seconds of mental debate with himself. What the hell was going on? Had they inadvertently fallen into some trap of some kind not actually meant for them? Unfortunately Ebisu wasn't armed with any information and it would be unwise to try anything at this juncture or else the entire military force of Iwagakure would be surrounding them within minutes.

"Excellent. Your master has been invited to the Tsuchikage's mansion tonight. You three have been randomly selected to be part of his honour guard. Here are your entrance passes. You will meet your master at the gates at seven o'clock. Do no be late." The ninja handed them their passes before making his way out of the bar.

"I thought we had managed to escape the wagon chain," Hiarashi murmured.

"We did," Ebisu said, "but we didn't escape the notice of the gate guards. "Don't forget that this is Iwagakure. I have no doubt now that every face that went through that gate was marked and recorded. And seeing as we posed as one of the merchant's guards – and the Tsuchikage's event is a formal one – the merchant is required to bring an honour guard. But this is the Tsuchikage we're talking about. He won't take any risks. So he sent out his ninja to randomly pick out the guards the merchant could bring so that if any ninja had been hidden among the ranks it would be easier to ruin any assassination plans."

"So we have to go then," Hiarashi concluded, "and hope that we aren't discovered."

"Something that will be doubly hard seeing as we will all undoubtedly be under surveillance," Ebisu said. Hiarashi let out a sigh. She hadn't expected things to be easy but neither had she expected them to get so complicated. Despite her great fighting prowess, she hadn't been trained as most other ninja were or how ANBU operatives were trained. That is to say, all her training had been concentrating on her fighting skills, on her ninjutsu, and almost none had been focused on stealth, infiltration or information gathering missions. In areas such as these she was in new territory. As she ran her hands through her hair she noticed that Hanabi had remained quiet. She looked hard at Hanabi's bowed head and it took her a few seconds to realize that Hanabi was hiding her head so no one would see her using her Byakugan. Ebisu also noticed and both ninja waited patiently until Hanabi was finished doing what she had been doing. Both Ebisu and Hiarashi instantly noticed the slightly pale look on Hanabi's face.

"What is it?" Ebisu asked.

"The jonin that were chasing us," Hanabi began.

"What about them?" Hiarashi asked, her voice reflecting her apprehension.

"Just before we left Konohamaru to deal with them," Hanabi explained, "they were close enough that I could analyze them completely with my Byakugan."

"And?" Ebisu asked, his face showing that he knew very well where this was going.

"The ninja who just gave us our orders," Hanabi said, finally managing to master her emotions. "His chakra coils … they were the same as the chakra coils of one of the jonin who were chasing us." Everyone was instantly on the same page. Chakra coils were different person to person, just like fingerprints and DNA. If Hanabi had seen the same chakra coils it could only mean that it was the same person. But a jonin that had been chasing them was now here in the Village, it could only mean that the jonin had gotten past Konohamaru. And where one of their enemies was, it was only the next logical step to assume the others were there. And if that was the case that meant that they had gotten the better of Konohamaru. And being elite ninja facing an enemy, they had either killed Konohamaru or captured him, the former seeming more likely than the latter.

"How sure can you be it's the same ninja?" Ebisu asked.

"I only got a short look before, which is why I spent so much time concentration on his coils now. There is something strange about the coils … but I can be eighty percent sure. It's one of them." They all went silent. They were all thinking the same thing. Konohamaru was gone.

XXX

Team Kakashi and Team Shikamaru came to in a rather large cell. Perhaps the most confusing thing was that they weren't restrained in any way. They were simply sprawled on the concrete floor, their postures suggesting that someone had simply thrown them in the cell without a second thought.

"Is everyone alright?" Kakashi asked. It seemed everyone was. Even the small injuries that had been accrued by most of the squad had been healed as well. Apart from the slight aches of sleeping so uncomfortably, everyone was fine.

"This is medical ninjutsu," Ino commented as she and Sakura gave quick physicals to everyone present. Only now did some appreciate the fact that the Hokage had sent two elite medical ninja on this mission, one of whom was her star student.

"Yes, someone healed us all," Sakura confirmed, "and I can detect no malignant presences in any of us. We are all perfectly fine."

"Something that should instantly make us suspicious," Shikamaru commented and Kakashi gave a sign of agreement.

"So exactly where are we?" Kiba asked and Akamaru gave a gruff bark of agreement. The white dog was in his usual small form and was snuggly sitting on Kiba's head.

"And where is-" Choji began but was instantly cut off when Shikamaru gave him a look. By now everyone had noticed Neji was missing. Kakashi looked at Kiba and before he could even ask the Inuzuka gave him a nod.

"We're alone. They must either be very stupid or very arrogant not to leave guards," Kiba said.

"Something tells me it is most definitely the latter," Kakashi said.

"A psychological technique, maybe?" Shikamaru voiced his thought aloud. "Why else would they leave us all our weaponry, not leave guards and not even bother to restrain us? They must be confident that we won't escape and have great confidence in this cell holding us, or else they think that escaping will be pointless and they could easily recapture us."

"I'm fairly certain it's both," Kakashi said. He had pulled off his hitai-ate and was carefully surveying the cell and what he could see of outside through the bars. "Remember, the Mizukage has just won a war. Kirigakure is filled with her shinobi, including the Seven Swordsmen. And then there is the Mizukage herself. If she can defeat the Seven Swordsmen single-handedly, then she is also another obstacle. Against such odds, we stand no chance. But you are all forgetting one thing," Kakashi reminded them.

"The Mizukage sent the Swordsmen to specifically capture us alive," Shikamaru supplied. Kakashi nodded.

"Nothing is going to happen until she makes her move. All we can do is sit tight. This cell is inescapable." That was a sobering thought. Nevertheless, Team Kakashi and Team Shikamaru spent a long while discussing events and plans of action, preparing for any possible scenario. And then they fell quiet. What else could they do?

It was hours later when they finally heard someone approach. They saw Kirigakure no Byakko, the White Tiger of the Hidden Mist, come to stand outside of the cell. He tilted his head to one side and slowly smiled.

"Still haven't figured out who I am yet, Kakashi?"

"I've had some time to think ob it, and I think I have."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It's been a long time, Inari. From the little eight year old I saw to the great shinobi before me now … the transition is simply extraordinary." Inari looked at them for a moment before his smile widened. Sakura blinked.

"Inari? Is that you?" Sakura asked in disbelief. Inari nodded. He placed his hand on a bar and pulled. The Konoha ninja hadn't seen or sensed any kind of gate on their cell, but Inari just pulled and the gate became apparent as it opened. They blinked. They were dealing with something on a completely new level. Inari stepped into the cell and closed the gate behind him. It melted away into nothingness. He turned round and looked at them all.

"Well, well," he mused. "Konoha shinobi. They were right about you, after all. You're tough bastards."

"Who exactly is "they"?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ah," Inari coughed. "I guess you haven't been taken to see them. Well, one of them anyway. The other is in Earth Country from what I heard."

"Who are you talking about?" Kiba asked in frustration. He didn't get why they didn't just overpower this punk and force him to help them to escape. That was until he smelt three new scents. There were shinobi waiting in the hallway. And from Akamaru's report, their chakra was huge. One of the three started walking toward the cell. Kiba could tell because the scent got closer. A figure robed in a cloak and wearing a straw hat – called a gasa – that covered a third of their face stepped into view.

"Akatsuki!?" Sakura whispered.

"No," Shikamaru said after a second's pause. "The cloak is patterned with white clouds on a black background, and not red clouds. Also, this one's nails aren't painted purple, but blue. We don't have any information on the rings Akatsuki members wear so I cannot guess as to whether the ring this one is wearing is one of theirs. It would be easy to confuse this person with Akatsuki, but I'm sure it's not Akatsuki. Another organization, perhaps." The figure turned slightly toward Shikamaru, but the posture remained straight and relaxed.

"You still have a sharp mind, Shikamaru-san," a soft and almost angelic voice murmured from beneath the darkness of the conical straw hat. They should have been expecting more surprises, but this was simply ridiculous. This person knew them as well? Who was she?

"And who exactly are you?" Kiba asked belligerently. He was tired of all these games. But then Akamaru started whining softly. Kiba looked down at him in confusion before his face paled. He formed the ram hand seal and concentrated. Yes, despite the different overlay, he could smell it too. The smell Akamaru had faintly smelt and instinctively recognised. He released the seal, his hands trembling.

"What is it, Kiba?" Kakashi asked softly. Something was buzzing softly at the back of his skull. His ninja sense as his superiors had told him when he first joined ANBU.

"Have you finally recognised me?" the figure said in that same soft voice. "I would be hurt if you didn't, Kiba-san."

"I recognise you alright," Kiba said. "It's been a long time."

"That it has," the figure replied with something akin to amusement in her voice. She reached up and slowly took off her gasa hat. When the hat was off and the light came to her face, all the Konoha ninja went rigid for a moment in shock and surprise. They saw a young, beautiful woman. She must have been twenty years old. She had a pale complexion and facial that perfectly fitted and complimented her; a small straight nose; a small mouth with cherry red lips; black, thin short eyebrows; and large circular lavender eyes that were framed by thick, long black eyelashes. She looked lean, she was average height and she had an air of both a beautiful flower and a deadly rose. She had long dark blue hair that was almost black. Two large locks framed her face and went down to her neck. The rest of it was combed back straight. It shone with a silky sheen all the way down to the middle of her back. She held the gasa in her hands, in front of her. She was smiling.

"It's very good to see you all again," she said.

"I have to admit it's a bit of a surprise to see you again," Kiba said. His voice had changed. He was no longer buzzing with his usual energy. He seemed … calm. "Where have you been for the past seven years, Hinata?"

XXX

Just outside Iwagakure, hidden from view and scent and sound stood a man. He was tall at six foot and three inches. He wore a gasa straw hat so his face was hidden in shadow. But even with the conical hat on, it was clear that he had a lot of hair. From what could be seen from the front, it was clear the man had two thick locks of hair that framed his face. The tips nearly touched his shoulders. It was also clear that the man's hair was quite shaggy and spiky despite efforts to tame it. A thick ponytail of spiky hair fell all the way to the small of the man's back. The hair was a golden blond.

The man wore a cloak. It was patterned with white clouds on a black background. The cloak had a long stiff collar that came up to the man's cheeks. This, combined with the gasa, made it impossible to discern the man's features. The man was leanly built and exuded a calm air, a stillness that was almost as effective as his jutsu at hiding his presence. The sleeves of his cloak covered his arms so only his hands were visible. The palms were smooth, but tough. The man wore blue protectors on the back of his hands you could tell that the protectors progressed into vambraces for the man's forearms. The nails were painted blue. On his right thumb the man wore a ring with the kanji _"mugendai"_, infinity, written on it. From the top two unclasped buttons of his cloak, a small portion of a black vest was visible. The cloak only reached the man's shins so the black trousers the man wore were also partly visible. What was visible was the fact that the man wore some kind of leg protectors that were blue in colour. A strap from the leg protectors went beneath the black zori sandals the man wore. The main's toenails were also painted blue.

_It seems this is where our organization's counterattack begins_, the man thought. _An apt location, considering that our intelligence suggests that one of Akatsuki's members is from here. Maybe I can gather information on him while I'm here._

The man formed the ram seal. He didn't utter a single word. There was no burst of smoke. But his jutsu was working nevertheless. For a second or two, the man was surrounded by a distorting haze, as if seen through water, before he started gaining definition again. As the definition came back, all of the man's features and clothes had been replaced, or rather they had changed. It was like he had performed the **Henge no jutsu**.

His hair was just as golden blond as before. Two thick locks framed his face. His shaggy and spiky ponytail had shortened and now only reached to between his shoulder blades. He wore a white kimono shirt that had extra long sleeves which widened down the length of his arms so that his hands were not visible. He wore a loose pair of trousers that reached his shins midway. On top of the shirt and trousers, he wore a red robe that had no sleeves and looped over his right shoulder, like a toga. The man also wore a pair of _geta_, or wooden slippers. He was wearing monk's clothing, specifically the attire the monks of Hi no Tera wore. He had a small backpack on his back. Gone were his other clothes and armour. His ring had transformed from the sapphire setting with the infinity symbol to an amber setting with a black swirl pattern that started in the middle and circled outwards. The jutsu was a success. He smiled and his bright blue eyes twinkled. Even though he had spent a while making sure the jutsu was perfect, actually executing it successfully was another thing. Now what was left was to see if it fooled the ninja of Iwagakure.

"The adventure begins, it seems," he said. He frowned. He had forgotten to match his voice to this new body. An unacceptable oversight. He started yodeling until he was satisfied he had found the right pitch. He smiled a smile that matched his eyes. Now the guise was complete. He started walking toward the gates of Iwagakure.

XXX

Hinata's face went blank for a second before her eyes refocused on the Konoha ninja again. Inari noticed the looks and his face went blank, not wanting to give the Konoha any indication that something had just happened.

"He's in Iwagakure," Hinata said, completely ignoring the fact that the Konoha ninja could here. They wouldn't understand what she meant but still, certain things required subtlety. Inari shook his head at Hinata's slip. He frowned at that thought. Was it really a slip? What she was involved with, the organization she was in, _**Tasogareru**_, was something he knew little about. Was this purposeful slip going to serve some other purpose? He shook the thought out of his head. He had learnt not to try and second guess Hinata and her counterpart.

"So soon?" Inari asked. "It's only been a week since he left. It should have taken him longer to get there, even for someone that fast."

"He was in a rush," Hinata agreed. "It's almost as if he wanted to get there in time for something." Hinata blinked and looked back at the Konoha ninja. She smiled. "Forgive me for getting sidetracked. We should really go and meet the Mizukage now."

_So this organization Hinata is involved in is making a move in Iwagakure?_ Kakashi thought. _The Hokage was going to send a team in to that village to investigate the __**Kongou**__ assassin. Could this be the source of the rush of Hinata's counterpart? I guess I'll have to keep both ears on the ground and handle this very carefully…_

_Byakko no Kirigakure_, The White Tiger of the Hidden Mist, and Hinata, a former shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village led the eight man Konoha shinobi team. Rather, it was the seven man team now, with Neji still unaccounted for. They quickly made their way out of the holding cells and out into public. The Konoha ninja were surprised. It seemed the holding cells were located right in the middle of Kirigakure. Where was the security in that? If someone escaped, there would be a certain massacre. What was the Mizukage thinking? But the as they left they noticed the sign on the small building that hid a large underground structure of holding cells. The building bore an ice blue shield with a golden insignia in the middle.

"Kirigakure has made many changes, starting with introducing a police force. Naturally, the **Hyougen** Clan runs it, but it is Daichi of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen who is in charge. The Mizukage is well aware of how the Seven Swordsmen thirst for blood and battle. Giving them something to do would keep them occupied, especially since we have just won a war."

"Why don't you run it?" Shikamaru asked. "After all, you are the leader of the Seven Swordsmen, which is a misnomer by the way. Shouldn't it really be Eight Shinobi Swordsmen?"

"Eight doesn't have the same ring to it "Seven" does. Second of all, despite the Mizukage making me the Leader of the Swordsmen, I am not the strongest of them. And the misnomer works quite well, as you should have guessed, Shikamaru-san. If an enemy is expecting seven of the strongest ninja from Kirigakure, the arrival of an eighth would completely offset him and put most of his strategies to ruin. Besides, I am in charge of another job for the Mizukage."

"How did you know we had infiltrated Water Country?" Sakura asked. Silently she wondered why the enemy was answering all their questions so truthfully. What was he up to?

"Quite by luck," Inari admitted with a laugh. "You decided to enter Water Country from one of the most defended positions Kirigakure has made. Did you really think we would be so lax as to let the North Coast, the most remote part of Water Country and the likeliest position to infiltrated by, go unguarded? Our Hunter-nin training Academy is up there, and so is one of out Daimyo's palaces. Your plan would have worked had you arrive an hour earlier or a day later, seeing as you are such good shinobi. You arrived right in the middle of a training session. If it wasn't for the fact that the Mizukage had expected shinobi to come from the north and had given orders for invaders to be left alone, you would have been engaged. And as good shinobi as you are, sheer numbers and a certain amount of skill would have had you dead."

"Your Mizukage sounds like quite the military strategist," Ino commented.

"She is," Inari said simply.

"We are here," Hinata announced. Inari gave a little flick of a raised hand and the two blue-robed policemen from the Hyougen Clan gave a small bow to the group before turning around and walking back to the station. The group of shinobi entered the mansion of the Mizukage. The mansion was quite strange. For one thing, instead of being quite tall, it was a mere three stories off the ground, average height for the houses around it. It seemed the Mizukage didn't like distinction as much as the last one had. The mansion also served as the Mizukage's base of operations, much like the Hokage's Tower. When they reached the top floor, Inari placed his hands on a wall. No one saw or felt anything but the wall shifted silently and moved to the side to reveal a dark passageway with stairs at the end. The group was ushered in by Hinata, Inari bringing up the rear. The passageway was lit by candles in holders every few hundred feet. They seemed to walk forever before they finally reached the end. Inari performed the same procedure and the wall opened up again. This time however he led the way in. He took off his zori sandals and everyone else followed suit. The room was quite large and sparsely furnished. There was a large rectangular table in the middle, and ten cushions were placed around the knee high table. The cushions were placed so that three people would sit next to one another while seven others would all be facing the same way.

Kakashi looked at the setup. It was to be expected, after all. The Mizukage had to show them who was in charge. Inari indicated they should sit and they did. The only space left unoccupied was the one between Hinata and Inari. They waited like that, in silence. Suddenly they heard a footstep. They looked to the left and saw that a young woman was standing in it. She couldn't have been nineteen years old, twenty at the most. She was dressed simply in a pink kimono and she wore wooden slippers. She held a large silver tray with cups and a steaming kettle on it. The tray was carefully placed on the table before everyone was given a china cup. The woman served them all green tea in the ceremonial manner. The shinobi realised this and acted accordingly. When she was finished, the woman took her place between Hinata and Inari.

Akamaru saw fit to give small bark. Kiba silently agreed with him. His mouth was open in shock. How could someone so young, so beautiful, so pure, be the same deadly, dangerous and practically demonic Mizukage they had heard about?

The young woman smiled as she sipped her green tea. Everyone else followed suit. This indicated that while the woman had been subservient to them and served them tea, showing her respect, everyone still knew that at the end of the say she was the boss.

"Welcome, Konoha ninja," the Mizukage said, "To my village. I hope your welcome was not very rough. My Swordsmen tend to get rather carried away."

"It was alright, Mizukage-sama," Kakashi replied. He looked at this young woman and tried to match the voice and the face to the young girl he had fought years ago. He could barely find anything to compare to. She had changed a lot. The Mizukage smiled.

"That's good to hear," the Mizukage replied. "Before we proceed with these talks, however, I would require that all of you be present and unfortunately you seem to be one short." The Konoha ninja tensed. She knew about Neji. The Mizukage's smile widened slightly.

"Hinata-san, would you please do me a favour?"

"What is it, Mizukage-sama?" Hinata asked.

"There is a Konoha shinobi in my village I need you to bring to me." Hinata nodded before standing up. Her smile remained in place but she now seemed more amused than anything else. She gave the Mizukage a questioning look, trying to figure out just what the Mizukage was trying to prove to the Konoha ninja. Hinata turned round and went to a wall. A thick rectangular slab shifted aside and Hinata disappeared in a dark passageway. The door closed behind her.

"Don't you think you should have told her she is going to find a Hyuga?" Inari asked. "A Hyuga who happens to be her cousin no less?"

Haku shrugged. "It will make the fight more interesting to watch." With that Haku made a hand seal with her left hand. The table frosted over and was soon covered by ice. The ice turned from transparent to opaque and then to reflective. Once it did so an image came into focus. It was of an old man wearing ragged clothes. The old man's head was downcast but the Konoha ninja guessed that if the man raised his head, lavender eyes would be apparent. It was Neji. Haku made another hand seal and suddenly the small room was filled with sound. It was sound from Neji's surroundings.

"I set up this scenario to see just how strong this Hyuga Neji is," Haku said, "… and to see for myself just how strong Hinata-san is."

Ebisu, Hiarashi and Hanabi went to the merchant's hotel room to pick him up. The fact that the rich barely paid any attention to the hired help made it easy for them because the merchant was not surprised he did not recognise them. Also telling him that they had been his rear guard, protecting his goods from any bandits that might come from behind, made them more believable. They still had to keep their distance to the other normal guards in case someone decided to voice the opinion that they were strangers.

The merchant had them stood at attention and lectured them on what he expected from them. He did not want any "incidences" that would tarnish his reputation, but he also wanted them to keep a sharp lookout and both ears on the ground for any tidbits of information that would come in useful later. The three nodded solemnly and accepted their orders. All the time Hanabi was fuming. How dare this man order her around like this? But then again, he didn't know who she was and she had to admit that this was what was expected of her during missions. The ability to blend into her surroundings and not raise suspicion.

Their papers were checked by two shinobi guards at the gates of the Tsuchikage's massive palace, and again at the giant doors that led into the foyer. The merchant made his way into the ballroom to mingle with the other guests, telling them not to attract attention.

"I don't want any trouble from you three!" he hissed at them before leaving. This was the perfect opportunity to acquire information. What had started out as an unexpected and very great inconvenience had turned out into a boon. There would be a lot of people here, and as the night wore on people's tongues would loosen. Something like the Kongou heir going on a revenge mission would not be that difficult a subject to bring up and it would not be totally suspicious. After all, to those in the know, the Kongou heir was one of the most powerful ninja in Iwagakure. It was said even the Tsuchikage respected him.

"Split up and gather information," Ebisu whispered before he aimlessly started walking about, a grin like that of a guard off-duty would wear. Hiarashi gave a brief nod to Hanabi before she too walked off.

Hanabi let out the tense breath she had been holding. She had the best chance of gathering information because of her Byakugan. Unlike members of the Branch Family, she had learnt the special **Henge no Jutsu** that allowed her to transform her very distinctive lavender, pupil-less eyes. Because no one would know of her being Hyuga because her eyes were veiled, she could activate her bloodline limit and view conversations from a safe place and not get fond out. Lip reading was one talent the all Hyuga were taught from a very young age. Being able to see through walls and most sealing techniques made it imperative that they be able to understand whatever anyone they were watching was saying.

Hanabi started walking about aimlessly. Her choice of transformation was a young and tall woman but nevertheless she was surprised by the amount of male attention she got. She found herself blushing. This was a completely new experience to her. Her duties as the Hyuga heir and as a shinobi had left little time for anything else. Even her training as a woman by a Branch Family shinobi had been a formal thing. Now she was suddenly thrust into a situation where none of her training and experiences seemed to count for anything. She berated herself for feeling this way. She should have better self-control. This feeling was the same one she got when…

_No!_ she shouted at herself. She took a deep breath, focused, and then chose a position from which no shinobi would think she was observing people simply because it was so bad. But because of her Kekkei Genkai it would be the perfect position. She found a nice table with three other guards sat on it. They weren't talking, completely focused on eating their food. Hinata helped herself to some food as well, bent her head and started eating. With her hair covering her face, she activated her Byakugan and started viewing everything that was going on within the mansion.

The blond haired monk was probably the most notable person in the ballroom. His bright blue eyes, shining golden hair and loud mouth made him hard to ignore. He buzzed from table to table, from exhibition to exhibition, the wonder written clearly in his eyes. After a while he made his way to the big buffet table. He was practically drooling. All this much food! He started helping himself when he heard a polite cough from behind. He turned his head slightly, a piece of chicken in one hand and a steak in the other.

"Huh?" he uttered. Always opening up with the killer conversation, that's him. The man behind him was dressed in black robes decorated with golden patterns. He was quite tall and muscular. His black eyes were looking at the blond kid with cool calm.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"I'm Yagura," the blond kid said with a smile. "And who are you?" he asked, pointing at the man with his chicken. The man's eyebrows raised a notch.

"You may call me Daichi," the man replied. Yagura rose and bowed to the man.

"Nice to meet you, Daichi-san!" he said loudly. Daichi's eyebrows raised another notch. At this rate they were in danger of getting lost in his black hair.

"This is a private engagement, Yagura-kun," Daichi said. "Would you mind telling me how you got in? You look a bit young, too, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Young!?" Yagura shouted. A few people turned to look at the pair with questioning looks. When they saw the two they started whispering. Yagura noticed but did not pay it much attention. "I just turned twenty a few weeks ago! I'm old enough to drink sake! Do you still think I'm young!? Huh?"

Daichi's eyebrows disappeared into his hair. "You are old enough to drink sake? I guess I was wrong then. You aren't young after all. But how did you get in?" Yagura gave Daichi a conspiratorial look.

"I haven't told anyone this but … I'm a ninja!" Yagura whispered.

"A ninja?" Daichi asked with mock shock. "But where do you come from?"

"Look at my clothes," Yagura said with pride. "I'm a monk from Hi no Tera!"

"Ah, but of course," Daichi said. "The great shinobi monks of Hi no Tera. You are one of them?"

"I used to be," Yagura said, completely contradicting his earlier statement. "I left to see the world. It was when I was travelling in Wind Country that I read the first book in the _Icha, Icha Series_. Such a talented writer and investigator, that … what's his name again? Jiraiya? Yes, him. But I thought I could do better so I decided to travel the Five Great Shinobi Nations and write a much more action packed book with the same filthiness we all love, set in each of the Five Nations. I hope the great Jiraiya won't mind if I take some inspiration from him."

"I see," said Daichi. "I have … sampled … some of Jiraiya's work. It's alright." Daichi blushed for a second before he regained his senses. "So that's how you got in? You used an artist's pass?"

"Yes," Yagura replied, nodding. "I borrowed one off some guy who couldn't make it and transformed into him! My **Henge** must have been good because the guards didn't suspect a thing!" Daichi smiled and nodded and debated whether or not to tell this childish young man that he in fact had been spotted. The Black Ops had spotted his guise a mile off, but it being his birthday; he had told his forces that there was to be no fighting. After all, the as the Tsuchikage, he wanted this day to be fun for all. He had opted to approach any trouble and mitigate it. After all, no one would want to start any trouble with the Tsuchikage. This kid was harmless, even though he was supposed to be a shinobi monk from Hi no Tera. It wouldn't even be worth it to subdue him and investigate his body. Daichi doubted this kid had learnt the fabled power of the shinobi monks of Hi no Tera, the power of Theurigical Enlightenment. Besides, this kid interested him.

"Interesting," Daichi said out loud. "Come with me, Yagura. Sit at my table. We can discuss your theories in greater detail." Yagura and Daichi, who was also the Tsuchikage, walked toward the highest table in the room.

Hanabi had watched this all with rapt attention. As soon as the two men finished talking, she pushed away her plate of half-eaten food and stood up. Her Byakugan was deactivated so she had to search for Ebisu and Hiarashi the mundane way. She had to concentrate on keeping the image of Ebisu and Hiarashi's transformations. She berated herself on not being more observant. It took her less time that she would have thought, and it became apparent why.

"What's wrong?" she asked the two when they came into view. Their eyes were filled with something she couldn't identify. Panic? Indecision? What was it?

"Have you been watching the ballroom with your Byakugan?" Hiarashi asked her in turn. Hanabi nodded.

"Then you saw the blond man the Tsuchikage was talking to?" Ebisu asked. Hanabi started. That man had been the Tsuchikage? She had expected him to be more … brutal. What she had seen had shown a middle aged man who was calm, collected and very intelligent. She nodded again.

"Didn't you notice anything strange about the man?" Hiarashi asked. Hanabi frowned. These two didn't have the Byakugan so they couldn't possibly be referring to the one split-second when the blond boy's chakra had acted strangely. Hanabi herself had discounted that. It must have been something to do with the Tsuchikage's appearance. After all, the man seemed to have large reserves of chakra.

"Well, I was lip reading their conversation," Hanabi said, "And the blond man's name is Yagura and he is a former monk of Hi no Tera. Other than that, there was nothing about him that struck me as odd." Ebisu looked at Hiarashi. It was strange to see the man's eyes, even though they were transformed. Ebisu always had on his black reflective glasses.

"Think hard, Hanabi," Ebisu said. "Think about that boy's face. About his mannerisms. About his speech. Isn't there something about him that rings a bell?" Hanabi frowned and thought hard. It must be something she had seen before. What was it about the man that raised her suspicions? She took a deep breath and concentrated on the facts she knew. He said his name was Yagura. He had blond hair and blue eyes. He wore the garb on the monks of Hi no Tera, so he was a shinobi. He was very loud and off-hand about things, but also courteous. He talked about Jiraiya of the Sannin with a passive familiarity. Who was he? Suddenly she felt a cold shiver as the answer came to her. She hadn't seen him since the Chunin Exams seven years ago. He had been short then, and a serious young shinobi. He had defeated Hyuga Neji. He was Uzumaki Naruto. She looked up at the two in shock. Her face told Ebisu and Hiarashi she had come to the same conclusion as they had.

"But he disappeared seven years ago," Hanabi said. "Father told me he left after he was dishonourably discharged by the Council." Hiarashi nodded. Hanabi noticed she seemed drawn, somehow. She looked almost like she was in shock.

"It seems he has been in Fire Country all along, until now. But it also seems his shinobi skills haven't improved much, judging by the Tsuchikage's reaction – or rather lack of. But why is he here? What has he been doing all this time? And he disappeared the same night as your sister, Hanabi. If he's here, surely that means that Hinata-kun is out there somewhere, too. Could they have left together?" Silence converged on the three shinobi.

"It does us no good to speculate," Hiarashi finally said. "Several high ranking Kongou Clan members are here. And the way the sake is flowing, getting information out of them won't be hard. Hanabi and I can talk to a few of the men, flirt a little if necessary. Afterwards I don't doubt we will have enough information to complete our mission. After that, if it's safe, we can investigate Uzumaki Naruto's presence. We will have to eliminate him, if he proves to be forming an alliance with the Tsuchikage. The…" Hiarashi paused. Hanabi did not know about the Kyuubi. "The power Naruto has cannot be allowed to fall into out old enemy's hands. The Council had planned to extract it or other control it. Now it's down to us to do what we can."

"Unfortunately," Ebisu sighed, "You are right. We'll corner him and ask just what the hell is going on. If t he answer is not to our liking, we'll have no option but to kill him." _Forgive me, Konohamaru_, Ebisu thought silently. _I hope you will understand that I have no option if it comes down to it._


	5. Chapter 5: The Mission part 4

Neji gave a sigh of relief as the three

Neji gave a sigh of relief as the three patrol ninja passed his hiding place. Whatever else you said about Kirigakure, you couldn't deny the fact that they were good ninja. Neji mused over the clothing the three had been wearing. He did not recognise it, which was strange. To pass the Jonin Exam, you needed to display a wide range of knowledge, and one of the most basic questions asked was to be able to discriminate foreign Special Forces from your own. That way you weren't likely to kill an ally by confusing him with an enemy. Neji did not recognise the ice blue robes or the black and golden insignia on the breasts of the robes. Whoever these ninja were, they were a recent addition to the forces of the Mizukage. Could they be a police force, just like the Uchiha had been in Konoha? Perhaps these ninja were part of the Hyougen Clan, then? It would only make sense, seeing as their Clan Leader was the Mizukage.

Neji shook himself from his musings and concentrated on the mission at hand. As an ANBU squad leader, he knew how to infiltrate almost any location. But he did not have his team with him now, so he had to resort to his own talents and ingenuity. His **Henge** had helped, but it could only get him through the Village gates. He did not know how to transform his distinctive lavender eyes as only the Head Family knew how to perform that special transformation. He now had to be more careful and find out where his team members had been taken, and why. He knew there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to rescue them, but he had to try. Besides, he couldn't just leave them without gathering information. If he could find out _why_ his team mates had been captured and not killed by the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, he could report back to Konoha, and from there other plans could be made.

He took in three deep breaths, steadying his heart and focusing on the mission at hand. The trail had lead to Kirigakure that much was for sure. As soon as Neji had seen not seven, but _eight_ Swordsmen, he had done a double take. Just what the hell was going on? It seemed that Konoha was short on information regarding Kirigakure. But what had hit him more was the sight of all of his team mates in the clutches of the Swordsmen. That meant he was the only free Konoha shinobi. When the unconscious Konoha ninja had been handed over to the blue robed ninja, the presumed policemen, the Swordsmen had disappeared in puffs of smoke. Neji had no idea where they had gone, but it was quite far because he could not detect their presence with his Byakugan. Neji had tried to follow the imprisoned Konoha ninja but by then the sun had come out, and with it civilians. The streets had packed up, and not wanting to resort to any ninja techniques in case his cover should be blown, he had to resort to mundane means of tracking. Suffice to say he had lost the trail.

But now he was relatively secluded and safe, and he could finally resort to his Byakugan without fear of being discovered. Neji started tracking the route he had seen the policemen take his team mates. As he did so, he investigated every house with his Byakugan, checking to see if his team was in there. Of course, one road led to another, and soon after a few hundred feet the area Neji had to scour had multiplied. He decided that since the blue robed ninja were policemen, they had to stick to the main roads to get to their headquarters. And so, Neji persisted. It took him an hour of searching, inbetween which he had to move location three times to avoid the police patrols, but he finally found the headquarters.

Neji moved out of the alley and into a road. The police HQ was barely within the range of his Byakugan. He had to move closer to be able to see whether his team mates were within the HQ's cells. He walked with his head down so that his eyes wouldn't be seen. Seeing as he was in the guise of an old man, that wasn't very hard. He even picked up a stick to use as a walking stick. He walked past a patrol with no trouble and his confidence in his transformation grew. The police HQ was within a few minutes' walk. He started looking for a suitable place to secret himself so he could use his Byakugan without detection.

"Sir, stop."

Neji started at the voice. He hadn't sensed anyone coming up behind him. The voice was a metre or so behind him. Who could it be to be able to detect him? Was it perhaps one of the Swordsmen? Neji slowly turned around, using his cover as an old man to drag the motion out as long as he could. His mind, meanwhile, was thinking very fast. If he had been found out, he had perhaps a few seconds in which to make an escape. He turned round and saw a policeman. The shinobi was dressed in ice blue robes and there was a black and golden insignia on his breast. The shinobi appeared completely relaxed.

"Yes?" Neji asked in the querulous voice of an old man.

"You dropped your money pouch, sir," the policeman said as he took out a pouch from within the sleeves of his robe. He walked over and handed the pouch to Neji. Neji was dumbfounded, and then felt relief. It was a good thing that the pouch had been picked up near him because the **Henge** would have dispelled as soon as he got too far away. He gave a smile and put the money pouch in his pocket, a money pouch which was actually his weapons pouch.

"Thank you, young man," Neji said in the old man's voice. The policeman gave a quick polite smile before the impassive expression set in again. He bowed, turned and walked away. Neji gave a sigh. This was more intense than he had imagined. He had found being an ANBU easy, but for some reason infiltrating the unknown in plain sight like this was much more highly strung. Shouldn't infiltration in the complete dark with the threat of enemy Special Forces actively searching for you be much more heart-stopping. Neji slowly turned round and began walking again in his small loping gait. He only got five paces before he noticed the person standing in front of him. With his hunched back he had to angle his head upwards so as to see who it was. He did a double take. Could it be Akatsuki? No, it wasn't he realised just as quickly. The cloak was black with white clouds, not red and the nails were painted blue, not white. Who was this person? He couldn't make out a face with the conical straw hat the person was wearing and the high collar of the cloak.

"Hyuga…?" the person said softly, almost as if the she was speaking to herself. Neji cursed. He had revealed his eyes to this female sounding shinobi. Now he had to take her out before she raised the alarm. Neji dropped the **Henge**. As the smoke dissipated, Neji used to cover himself. He performed the **Shunshin no jutsu**, the Body Flicker Technique, disappeared and reappeared behind the Akatsuki look-alike kunoichi. He took out a kunai from his weapon's p ouch, which was once again at his hip, and aimed for the kunoichi's neck. He planned to hold her prisoner and then question her. The way she appeared had indicated that she had known he would be there. Who else knew he was there? He held the kunai right against the skin of her neck.

"Who are you?" he asked sternly. He was lucky that she had chosen to confront him on a relatively abandoned street, but still someone could happen onto this scene at any time. And Neji could be really unlucky and it would be a police patrol. He had to speed this up.

"Who are you!?" he asked more forcefully. The kunoichi made no move. After a few seconds he shoulders moved suddenly, as if she was taking a deep breath. Neji pressed the kunai to her neck hard enough to draw blood. The kunoichi was giving him no choice but to kill her.

"My name will become apparent in due time, Hyuga Neji," the kunoichi finally said. Neji started. She knew who he was? How? And he still had no idea how she had found him.

"If you're wondering how I knew you were here," the kunoichi continued, "It wasn't hard. You may not realise it but you stick out like a sore thumb to the rest of the civilian populace." Neji frowned. What did she mean? Had he imagined the emphasis on the word "civilian"? If he hadn't, that meant she had managed to pick out that he was a shinobi. How? Could she sense his chakra? Impossible, since he had suppressed his chakra. Being a Hyuga, he could suppress his chakra better than most people in the world. Then how had she identified him? This wasn't the time for questions. He had to move them to a much more agreeable location.

"You're going to come with me, quietly," Neji ordered.

"…Very well," the kunoichi said after a second's deliberation. "I assume you're taking me out of the village?"

Neji did not answer, instead applying pressure to the kunoichi's neck. The kunoichi started walking, Neji behind her, directing her movements.

XXX

"So tell me your plan for your series," Daichi asked Yagura.

The two were seated on the highest table in the ballroom. It was nearly midnight and the two had just finished discussing their respective pasts, with Daichi talking more about his and Yagura mostly talking about his time at Hi no Tera. Daichi was surprised with himself. He had never expected to talk to anyone about his life but this overly talkative and seemingly innocent young monk seemed to have a gift for opening people up. After hours of exchanging stories, hours in which most of the guests had retired to the bedrooms kindly prepared by Daichi's staff, the two had finally gotten round to the original subject Daichi had wanted to discuss; Yagura's series of books.

"Well," Yagura began explaining as he practically drank the food that was on the table – Daichi wondered where the young kid put all of the food and drink he had been consuming for hours – "I have most of the characters and the general plotline figured out. What I need now are the details. So far I've been to Water Country, Wind Country and Lightning Country. I have managed to visit the Hidden Villages and learn their histories and their current politics. This information will be the basis of my books."

"I'm assuming there is a main character?" Daichi asked as he took a sip of his sake. Yagura nodded as he wiped his mouth with the back of his head.

"Yes, there is. Although my books will be based on the Five Great Shinobi Nations, things won't be exactly the same. For instance, my main character will be from another world, a world where such things and concepts as shinobi and chakra have been forgotten, left in the past. My main character will find a way into an alternative world where these concepts are a reality. I thought it would be a bit boring if I simply used the true definition of shinobi and so I decided to tweak things. For example chakra is more like magic, with hand seals being completely non-existent. That allowed for a much larger scope for action. But of course, in this magnificent world, our young hero is a normal, un-magical, human samurai, albeit an extremely talented one. I decided to make his skills equal to those of a Tokubetsu Jonin so as to level things up. And of course, he is a heartbreaker with an astonishing talent for finding trouble."

"Sounds interesting," Daichi said, and he meant it. The _Icha, Icha Series_ was much more … general when it came to the shinobi world. "So I presume you came to Iwagakure to learn more about us?" Yagura nodded, and then smiled sheepishly.

"I was mistaken for a spy in Sunagakure and Kumogakure, and I don't want to sound forward, but with you being the Tsuchikage and all…" Yagura let the sentence hang. Daichi smiled.

"But of course, I will help you myself. I would like to see the spawning of this new Series. If it's even better than Jiraiya-san's, I will have the pride of knowing I contributed." Yagura smiled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Thank you very much, Daichi-san!"

The two left it there, with the Tsuchikage promising to meet the young ninja the following morning. After Daichi had left, the expression on Yagura's face slowly turned impassive.

_The first stage is complete,_ he thought. _Although I would never have expected to snare the Tsuchikage himself. He is more different than I thought he would be. And I have the feeling he will see past my guise, given enough time. I have to speed this up._ Yagura smiled again. _But of course, I can't abandon my new Series! Using it as a cover was ingenious. This way I will have the first issue finished in a few weeks! Eat your heart out, Ero-Sennin, because I'm about to blow you out of your golden pedestal._

"Are you going to remain hidden for much longer?" Yagura asked out loud. For a few minutes nothing happened. The sounds of the barely populated ballroom filled Yagura's ears. Here and there influential members of the Hidden Rock Village were sharing stories, all formal manners gone. It was obvious most of them were drunk and would need help to their rooms. None of them would notice anything. Yagura knew that by now the Black Ops watching the room had left. After everyone in the ballroom and the mansion was cleared, the Black Ops had gone back to their posts around the mansion and around Iwagakure.

Three people stepped out from behind a pillar. Yagura studied them very closely. He was sure that he had never seen them before, but he was just as sure that they were Konoha ninja under disguise. He had followed them from a very far distance as they had made their way through Earth Country, and because of this he wasn't sure who exactly they were. He was surprised by their skills at evading patrols. It seemed the team had specialists in this thing, or else someone or some ones with special abilities. He was an expert tracker and infiltrator himself – he had to be for the kind of missions he had been undergoing for two years now – and so evading patrols and keeping his targets in sight, even over such long distances, was easy for him.

"Who are you?" Yagura asked. He picked up an apple and took a bite. He chewed almost absently. He noted the hard glances each of the three shinobi were giving him. "And where is the other member of your team? Scouting?"

The glances from the two females became harder, their eyes flickering in their sockets. _Ah…_ Yagura thought with a small smile on his face. _They think the shinobi who decided to eliminate the threat of the pursuing Jonin is dead. And they didn't even decide to check to see if this is true? If their team mate _was_ dead, wouldn't there have been an alarm out in Iwagakure for foreign shinobi? How could they give up so easily and accept appearances?_ Yagura found himself slightly annoyed at this behaviour and so resolved to keep his mouth shut on the matter. If they couldn't display enough brains to think the situation through, they deserved to suffer. Leaving team mates for dead was not what Konoha shinobi did. Yagura could accept that they might think their team mate dead protecting them, but not to even look for a body to go back to Konoha with? Yagura let these thoughts slip out and concentrated on this situation at hand. _The second stage initiates now, it seems._

XXX

Neji managed to lead the kunoichi outside the Village boundaries.

_This feels way too easy,_ Neji thought, _especially for a person who managed to sneak up on me without any detection._

As soon as they were relatively covered by forestry, Neji jumped away from her. The kunoichi massaged her neck. The blood from the earlier nick had stopped flowing and her neck felt slightly stiff. As soon as she had massaged the feeling back, she turned toward the Hyuga.

"Why did you let me go?" she asked. Neji frowned. Why did her voice sound so familiar?

"I had the distinct sensation I was doing exactly what you wanted. Now I want you to explain. This far away from the village I can deal with you without announcing my presence." The kunoichi cocked her head to one side.

"Now explain yourself!" Neji shouted, and for good measure he activated his Byakugan. With it, he managed to see the hidden face of the kunoichi. Even with her eyes closed, why did it seem so familiar?

"Very well, then," the kunoichi said. "I was asked by the Mizukage to come and get you." Neji stood still in shock. What the hell? The Mizukage had known he was in Kirigakure? Why hadn't she acted sooner, then? Or sent a bigger squad to get him? He growled in frustration. Even if he defeated this kunoichi now, he had no option but to get out of Water Country, and fast. He had to get back to Konoha and tell the Hokage what was going on. He sensed the kunoichi's smile as much as he saw it with his Byakugan.

"I'm sure you understand if I have to use force to make you come with me," the kunoichi said conversationally. Neji's stare only hardened. This was what he dealt with best; physical threats.

"It doesn't have to come to this," the kunoichi said. "Come quietly and peacefully and I promise you won't be harmed." In answer, Neji shifted into his customary **Jyuken** stance.

"I see," the kunoichi said. "You give me no choice." And then Neji had the biggest shock so far. With his Byakugan, he was able to see beneath the high collar of the kunoichi's robe and the low brim of the kunoichi's hat. What he saw stopped him cold for a full second, a second which cost him. He saw the kunoichi finally open her eyes, eyes which she had kept closed during their meeting. He had assumed that she was hiding a Kekkei Genkai perhaps, and he was right. But he would never have thought the Kekkei Genkai was the Byakugan! It explained how she had managed to pick him out of a crowd! With the Byakugan, she could see past his **Henge**, and what's more she could see his chakra pathways and know instantly he was a ninja.

In that second of shock and immobility, the kunoichi performed her attack. It was so seamless, so perfect and so unexpected he never had a chance of stopping it. This seemingly Hyuga kunoichi disappeared. No, that's not the word. She didn't disappear but more accurately she _divided_. Every atom of her being simply separated from the rest, and this division was to a level that was far too advanced for his Byakugan to comprehend. One moment she was there, and the next she wasn't. At the exact same time, exactly behind him, he partly saw and partly felt chakra bonding a large sum of atoms together, and all of the sudden there she was, standing in a relaxed pose, the kunai in her hand resting lightly on his neck.

Neji rarely knew fear. Yes he admitted that when he was on a mission and met someone with great abilities, which had only happened three times, he got frustrated and a bit afraid of the implications. But now he would admit he felt raw fear. This type of **Shunshin** was way beyond his ken. This kunoichi had somehow managed to _separate_ her body into its subatomic properties, and still retain enough consciousness to rebuild it. How could she do that? The moment she separated herself like that, her mind would cease to exist in the normal sense. She would no longer possess the knowledge and power to put herself together. The only way she could do that would be through linking each atom in her body with chakra. And if she had, her chakra control was more perfect than anything he had ever imagined possible. Even his powerful Byakugan hadn't been able to see it or sense it. Just what the hell was she?

But he wasn't one of the youngest Jonin in the history of Konoha for nothing. It had taken him six months after his first Chunin Exams to become a Chunin, achieving the rank at the age of thirteen, and then another six months – just before his fourteenth birthday – to achieve the rank of Jonin. He was probably one of a handful to move up two ranks in the same year, not only in Konoha but in the other Shinobi Nations. And then it had taken him a year of being a Jonin before he joined ANBU Black Ops. Six months into the part-time job he had been made into an ANBU Squad Leader by the Hokage for his exceptional skills and his one hundred percent success rate in his ANBU career. Suffice to say, he was a skilled shinobi. And so despite the odds against him, Neji was prepared to deal with them with all the skills in his arsenal.

"You are skilled, Hyuga Neji," the kunoichi said a nanosecond before the exploding tag exploded. It was the same exploding tag Neji had placed on the branch as he had landed, after he had jumped away from the kunoichi. The Neji the kunoichi had been holding a kunai to was replaced by a log, a log which was in turn plastered with exploding tags. A smile touched the kunoichi's lips right before the water she was made from exploded. A **Mizu Bunshin**, a water clone.

Concealed high up in the foliage the kunoichi stood on a stick think branch and did not break it or make any noise as such was her balance.

_Interesting_, Hyuga Hinata thought. _Neji-nii-san has come far, as expected of a Hyuga genius. I didn't see the counterattack coming at all. To be able to fool someone wielding the Byakugan like that … it takes great skill. This will be an interesting fight._

Four hundred metres away, also concealing himself in the foliage, Hyuga Neji watched the area he had been occupying only moments before. Being an ANBU operative, mastering the **Shunshin** was a necessity if you wished to survive confrontations for more than a few seconds. He had caught the kunoichi by surprise, he knew that. Her guard had lowered when they had first met, he knew that too. He didn't know why, but he knew enough about how human beings operated psychologically to be able to detect it. But now her guard would be up again. She wouldn't hold back. She knew he was a strong shinobi and couldn't afford to dally about.

_She's also with __some sense morality_, Neji realised. _She allowed herself to be led away from Kirigakure because she didn't want anyone to get hurt in this fight. Who is she? How come a Hyuga has managed to live for so long away from Konoha without Hiashi-sama knowing? She bears the __**Caged Bird Seal**__, I have seen it. Which Branch House family does she belong to? She can't be older than I am. News would have travelled to all Hyuga if one of us defected, and yet I have heard nothing! Who is she!?_

Neji started scouting with his Byakugan until he found the kunoichi. _Whoever you are, I will have answers!_

XXX

"Follow me," Yagura said as he stood up. He saw the three Konoha ninja tense but he ignored it. He walked down from the raised table and out of the ballroom. After a beat, the three Konoha ninja followed him. Yagura led them to a lone balcony on the second floor, near his own room. He turned round and faced them.

"I will undo my **Henge** if you undo yours," Yagura said.

"Do it," Ebisu said without even pausing. He undid his and the two kunoichi followed suit. Ebisu's face was impassive, his eyes invisible behind his black sunglasses. Hanabi was likewise impassive, but Yagura could easily detect the uncertainty in her unique lavender pupil-less eyes. Lastly there was Hiarashi. As expected, she wore a look of half disgust and half anger. Yagura found himself smiling as he looked at her. Hiarashi's expression shifted into impassivity after a few seconds of breath control. This was no time to get emotional.

Yagura took a step back and formed the ram seal. His body wavered as he untransformed. In the next second there stood a man wearing a black cloak patterned with white clouds. His high collar and low brimmed conical straw hat hid his face from view, but the three Konoha ninja could still sense the smile on Yagura's face. Yagura's bright yellow and spiky ponytail waved back and forth slightly in the wind. Beneath his cloak, Yagura still wore his monk's attire. He realised he quite liked it. He wouldn't get rid of his other set of clothes, of course, seeing as his special **Henge** didn't actually transform his appearance. Rather, it alternated between one set and another. His other set of clothes would come in handy in the future, no doubt, but for now he was content with his monk's attire.

Yagura slowly lowered his hands, making his vambraces visible. Yagura frowned slightly in concentration. Two pieces of armour appeared on his person. They were hand guards that protected the backs of his hands. They were a part of his vambraces and were attached to them. He occasionally forgot about them but that would have to stop now. He couldn't afford any lapses. For a second his mind drifted back to the first time he had worn the **Doragon Yoroi**. It was years ago. He had finally mastered the armour. The greaves with their attached foot guards and the vambraces with their attached hand guards were more powerful than they seemed. Yagura's mind snapped back to the present. He could reminisce later.

Hiarashi looked at this person who called himself Yagura and couldn't decide what to think. The old prejudices had flashed in her mind as soon as she had set eyes on him. She had to force herself to calm down and concentrate on the present situation. Hiarashi eyed this person who wore an Akatsuki-like cloak. Who was he exactly? What had he become? The cloak was only buttoned down to the waist and up to the chest so Hiarashi could see what he was wearing beneath it. The white, long sleeved shirt was completely stainless. It seemed to almost glow. The white trousers were in the same condition. They were tucked into Yagura's greaves and so they widened as they neared the waist. The crimson red toga he wore was again spotless, and Hiarashi could appreciate the fact that the toga had seams down the hips, seams that separated the toga into front and back, so as to increase the mobility of the wearer. At his waist, this Yagura wore a thick blue _obi_, or sash, the two ends trailing in front of him, resting on his thighs. Yagura cut a fine figure, just as a shinobi should look like. The wind died down Yagura's figure was hidden by his cloak.

"I am sure you have figured out who I am by now," Yagura began. "But you are wondering why I am here, correct?" The three Konoha ninja said nothing. Hiarashi's own white cloak with patterned flames on the hems stirred slightly. It was the same one her father had worn on the night he had sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi no Yoko. Yagura instantly recognised it. He did a mental back paddle. The last thing he should do was provoke Hiarashi in case things got ugly and attracted unwanted attention. His smile faded.

"It's been a long time, Naruto-kun," Ebisu said, his face still impassive. "We are indeed wondering why someone of your … power is meeting with a former enemy."

Uzumaki Naruto, a.k.a. Yagura, smiled at the affectation; Naruto-_kun_. Despite the circumstances, Ebisu-san was still willing to be friendly. And the way he weaved around the Kyuubi so that the young Hyuga wouldn't know what they were talking about was amusing, to say the least. Naruto looked at the Hyuga. There was a familiarity about the facial features he could place easily. So this was Hinata-san's younger sister. She had to be fourteen years old now, and she was a Jonin. If his information was right, that was about the same age Hyuga Neji, a certified genius, had also achieved the rank of Jonin. This Hyuga Hanabi was talented, then, because he knew Tsunade's Exams were even tougher than Sandaime's from various informants.

"There is no need to worry, Ebisu-san," Naruto said. "I am not plotting against Konoha. I am here on business and on personal matters."

"What business? And what personal matters?" Hanabi asked. Naruto looked at Hanabi with a raised eyebrow, a raised eyebrow none of the Konoha ninja could see. Naruto could now see why Hinata had been worried about leaving her sister. Left alone with the burden of becoming the next Hyuga Clan Leader, Hanabi's childhood had been taken over by _giri_, by duty. The girl had become cold. Naruto found himself feeling sorry for the girl. She was the exact opposite of happy Hinata.

"It's none of your concern," Naruto said smoothly. "It's private. Only the Hokage and the Council has the clearance to know." This surprised the Konoha ninja. The statement implied that Naruto had been contact with Konoha before this meeting. How come no one had been told, then? Hiarashi was suspicious, but before she could voice her suspicions, Naruto's right hand snaked out of its sleeve. It was holding a necklace, a necklace that was well-known to a select few in Konoha, mostly among the ANBU Black Ops. It signified that the carrier of the necklace was to be trusted as an ally. Only the current Hokage knew how to make one and only she could give them out.

"Now, before you start interrupting, this necklace proves that I am currently on your side. I will not explain anything to you seeing as I owe you nothing. But Tsunade-obaa-chan paid me to collect information for her and I have done so. This folder contains all she needed to know, and more. The mysterious Kongou heir that's been sent to Fire Country to assassinate Hiarashi here; this folder also contains a full profile on him, including his abilities. I'm sure you understand that this needs to reach the Hokage urgently, _and only the Hokage!_" Naruto gave a purposeful look toward Hiarashi. He knew she rubbed elbows with the Council. There was information in the folder that could get Tsunade-obaa-chan in trouble, and possibly impeached. Hiarashi's look of anger returned.

"What do you mean paid?" Hanabi asked shrewdly.

"In case you hadn't noticed," Naruto said amusedly, "I was dishonourably discharged from my service as a Konoha ninja. My services are now purely freelance and at my own discretion. I have to pay the bills _somehow_." This stopped Hanabi short. Naruto's statements made sense. What's more, seeing as he no longer owed any allegiance to Konoha, he had no reason to help Konoha. This made his story much more believable. After all, why would he give information to the people who had scorned him unless he was being paid for his troubles?

"How do I know to trust you?" Hiarashi said. "Seeing as no one's heard of you in seven years, for all we know you could have stolen the necklace from someone else." Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, or much more worse, to force the issue. Hiarashi was headstrong, just like he used to be. When it came to him, all her common sense went out the window. He had to admit the reverse was mostly true. Something about the girl irked him. But he had learnt to bury such emotions long ago. He had learnt to focus on the goal.

"I don't really care what you think," Naruto said bluntly. "You have finished your mission; you have acquired information on the Kongou heir. Now return home. I am giving you this folder for Tsunade-obaa-chan. Are you really going to risk the chance that I'm telling the truth in favour of spiting me? I think not. Besides, Ebisu-san is the squad leader. It's his decision, not yours." Ebisu took the folder from Naruto without a pause. His blank face scanned Naruto, but nothing of Naruto's features could be seen.

"Do I have your word that you're telling the truth?" Ebisu asked.

"You have my word," Naruto replied. Ebisu nodded before turning round and walking back into the mansion, making sure to transform back into his disguise. Hanabi took one look at Naruto before turning and following. Only Hiarashi and Naruto were left on the balcony. Silence reigned. Naruto was content to leave it like that. If Hiarashi had something to say to him, she would. His defeat at her hands so long ago still burned at him. He had wanted a rematch long ago. But of course, he had learnt to let things go. Purification of the spirit. Becoming whole. Those had been his aims when he had left Konoha, and he had achieved them.

"Don't come back to Konoha," Hiarashi finally said slowly, picking her words carefully. "It will only begin problems."

"I know," Naruto said. He leaned against the railing of the balcony. "Akatsuki will always follow me wherever I go until they have the Kyuubi. That's one of the reasons I left Konoha." For a second Naruto went quiet, thinking about Konoha. He had left Konoha, left his friends and had deceived them, saying he would be back. He sighed inwardly. It was necessary. They would be happier without his presence threatening them.

"It's why I have dedicated my life to fighting them," Naruto continued. "Their organisation is larger than anyone thought." Naruto pushed off the railing. "But I can't talk about it to outsiders." Hiarashi looked at Naruto's black cloak patterned with white clouds; at the fingernails and toenails painted blue; at the sapphire ring on Naruto's thumb; and at the gasa straw hat that covered most of his features.

"What organisation is this?" Hiarashi asked, and Naruto knew she was talking about the organisation he was in.

"Our organisation is dedicated to fighting Akatsuki and its goals. As Akatsuki is bent toward the Dawn of their goal, our organisation, **Tasogareru**, is bent toward the Dusk of that goal. A little melodramatic, but it suits the purpose. Goodbye, Hiarashi-san." Naruto formed the half-ram focus seal and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hiarashi frowned, her mind in turmoil. The urge to pounce on Naruto and rip him to pieces had been growing steadily all throughout the conversation. In her mind, it had been like speaking to the Kyuubi and fraternising with the enemy. No matter what her rational mind said, Naruto still symbolised the death of an important part of her life. Simply for having the Kyuubi sealed inside him, he had turned into a pariah. The Kyuubi appeared in times and places where human misery and malevolence were high. By becoming the container, Naruto had become a receptacle of that misery and malevolence. Even from its prison, the Kyuubi still fulfilled the requirements of its presence. For a second she felt pity for Naruto … pity for her brother…

Hiarashi shook her head and transformed back into her disguise. Naruto couldn't be her brother. There was no proof. If he was, someone should have known. The absence of any aid in his life was proof enough of that. She suspected Kakashi had merely said that so that to confuse her, maybe to make her calmer around Naruto. He had to know she would never publicise any relationship to him, whether she wanted to or not. Well, it wouldn't work. Naruto's existence was still the reason for her father's death. When he died, and with him the Kyuubi, her father could finally be avenged. And she would be the one to seek that reparation.

XXX

Neji and Hinata slid away from each other, their feet drawing up dust. Neji gritted his teeth in frustration. Her counterattack had been perfect. Her **Jyuken** was perfect. Everything about her fighting form was goddamn perfect! Neji took deep breaths to steady himself. He hadn't been this frustrated in a fight since his first and only match with Uzumaki Naruto. He focused on the current situation.

The Hyuga Arts were divided into twelve parts or stages. Members of the Branch House, _Bunke_, were only allowed to learn the Hyuga Arts up to the ninth stage. The following three stages were reserved for the three Families of the Main House only. He had learnt all of the nine stages and perfected them under Hyuga Hiashi-sama's guidance by the time he was fourteen, when he achieved the rank of Jonin. Hiashi-sama wasn't known as one of the most powerful Hyuga in history for nothing. Hiashi himself had completed all of his training, all of the **Hakke no Juuni Dankai**, all of the Twelve Steps of the Eight Trigrams, by the time he was thirteen. Suffice to say, Hiashi-sama was talented and a perfectionist. And it was this combination that allowed for Neji's instruction under Hiashi-sama to be speedy and very productive.

But it seemed that Neji's opponent was either just as skilled, or had received the same kind of instruction under a master, or both. She knew what attack he was going to employ almost as soon as he thought of it himself, and in turn he could read her movements as well. Neither of them had landed a blow on the other, so good were their skills.

Neji's confusion set in. Someone this good would have been known to all Hyuga for their exceptional skill. As a matter of tradition spanning centuries, every Hyuga was trained in the Hyuga Arts up to the third stage. This had been declared compulsory so that if the Hyuga were ever threatened, every Hyuga could defend the Clan with all their might. Of course, in this day and age very few Hyuga went on to become shinobi for the Hyuga or for Konoha, and so there weren't as many fighting Hyuga as there had been decades ago. This made hiding one's talent in the **Jyuken**, which was an integral part of the Eight Trigrams Hyuga Arts, much more difficult and cause for exaltation.

"Who are you?" Neji asked once again.

"My identity will become apparent in time," the kunoichi replied in turn. "But I would urge you to stop holding back, or else our battle will be drawn out. You can't afford that, seeing as Kirigakure ninja could happen upon us at any time."

_She's right_, Neji thought. He had been holding back, hoping to learn more about this Hyuga. If he happened to kill her, no answers would be forthcoming. The Hyuga Council wouldn't be pleased with that. If one Branch House member could flea and remain hidden like this one had, what about any others? But Neji realised both of them were simply too high calibre shinobi for him to hold back. He had to give his all if he was to triumph.

"Very well," Neji said. Once again he got into the **Jyuken** stance, but this time it was slightly different. It was the stance learnt at the ninth stage of the Eight Trigrams. The kunoichi nodded before she settled into a stance of her own. It was not the **Jyuken**, and yet it was _of_ the **Jyuken**. Could this kunoichi have created a hybrid martial art, with the **Jyuken** being the base element? Interesting concept. He had done a similar thing with his own skills.

The kunoichi attacked. Neji realised there must be some sort of limitation on her because she hadn't used her insane **Shunshin** a second time. But that didn't minimise her speed. She turned out to be an incredibly fast and agile shinobi, as well as strong. _Like a wildcat_, Neji found himself thinking. Her amazing sense of hearing only added to the likeness. The kunoichi lunged forward, her movements rippling. Neji met her thrust with a parry, his eyes seeing the chakra needle that had been aimed for his heart being nullified by his own chakra. They traded blows, constantly moving and shifting for the advantage. Neji waited patiently, trying to draw the kunoichi in. Finally he got his opportunity when he parried a blow from her, leading her to slightly overextending herself. In that millisecond of vulnerability, Neji struck.

He brought his right hand down and then forward, straight into her chest. When he expelled his chakra, though, it wasn't a normal strike. His palm crackled with electricity. The force of the blow sent the kunoichi backwards and into the air. She landed lightly on her feet, but Neji could see his blow had damaged her internal organs quite well. He saw the kunoichi smile under her gasa.

"**Raiton: Jyuken**!" Neji announced, once again shifting into his beginning stance. Thunder Release: Gentle Fist.

It was a very interesting combination, Hinata had to admit. More than interesting, it was deadly. As well as closing the tenketsu and damaging internal organs with the Gentle Fist, the lightning would numb the muscles in the area that had been struck. And it seemed that just like the chakra needles of the Gentle Fist, no physical contact was necessarily needed for the lightning to reach the target. Lightning, like any other form of energy, followed the path of least resistance. The path carved by the chakra of the Gentle Fist attack would serve to clear air resistance and form a path to the target. Very deadly. Hyuga Neji wasn't known as a genius for nothing. This **Raiton: Jyuken** seemed to be Neji's ace-in-the-hole, and a very effective one, too. Hinata wouldn't be surprised if this idea was taken and added to the **Hakke no Juuni Dankai**. Being able to damage your opponent on several levels at once was a valuable and deadly tool in combat. Hinata smiled. This would make the fight more interesting.

Hinata turned into water and dropped to the ground. Neji blinked. So this had been the water clone? When had the kunoichi made the switch!? Just before he had hit her? Had she overextended herself on purpose so as to make him show his hand? She executed her techniques way too fast for him to follow. It was insane. Neji instinctively turned toward where his Byakugan had detected another kunoichi. Too late, he saw the attack coming. He saw too late the kunoichi form a focus sign and activate exploding tags. The exploding tags released strings and thirty kunai came sailing toward him. By the time he had turned fully, the kunai were two metres in front of him. He saw the kunoichi a millimetre behind the horde of kunai, her palm raised and ready to attack as soon as he deflected the kunai. He was trapped by the same jutsu which would save his life. And then he smiled. That's what she would think, at any rate. If there was one thing he had learnt from Uzumaki Naruto, it was to be unpredictable.

Neji continued with his turning motion.

"**Raiton: Hakkesho Kaiten**!" Thunder Release: Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin.

Neji spun in a circle, a sphere of chakra forming around him, deflecting the kunai. And then Neji added nature manipulation to his jutsu. The sphere of chakra turned into a sphere of electricity. Being made of metal, the kunai conducted the electricity. When they rebounded off the chakra wall, they hit the kunoichi, and she in turn conducted flashes of electric current into her body. She had seen the change too late, and so when she jumped back from this new jutsu, her hand brushed across the wall's surface. She couldn't even land properly. Most of the body, if not all, relied on electric current to carry messages. This electricity disrupted the electric flow, momentarily paralyzing her body. She couldn't even land properly because her knees merely buckled.

Neji nearly ran in to finish her off, but something held him back. This proved to be the wise thing to do as his Byakugan detected two things; the first was the fact that two hundred metres behind him he could see the kunoichi, which meant she had somehow escaped him once again; the second was that with his Byakugan, he could see that the kunoichi in front of him was a water clone, and what's more he could see the chakra she was made of all rushing toward one central point. He started. The way the chakra was compacting… shit! He jumped away a second before the water clone exploded. He was just out of the five metre blast radius but he still felt the shock wave.

_I didn't really expect to __catch him in my __**Mizu Bunshin Bakuha**__, my Water Clone Explosion, but still it was productive. I learnt something about his abilities_, Hinata thought. _Being able to perform nature manipulation with all of his techniques … that is A-rank stuff. And the nature manipulation itself; he doesn't need hand seals whatsoever. Very few people can get to that level. He is truly talented. And what's more, it seems the range of his Byakugan is greater than mine. I am standing exactly two hundred and one metres away from him, which is one metre over my own limit, and he can still see me. Just how long is his range? I'm a close to mid-range fighter. I have very few long range attacks, which means he will be able to see all of them coming. He is a master of short range attacks, and his __**Raiton**__ jutsu will make it difficult to harm him without getting hurt myself._ Hinata found herself smiling. By the end of the fight, she was sure they would both be very exhausted and very badly hurt, but the rematch she had been seeking with her cousin was finally at hand, and what a match it would be!

XXX

Naruto stood on the balcony of his own room, his cloak, hat and armour gone, sealed away until he needed to don it all again for official business. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Freedom. Yes, he missed Konoha, but by being _"freelance"_, so to speak, he had found a new lack of restriction he quite enjoyed. His free spirit was never meant to be controlled. Free as the wind was the expression. Naruto smiled at that thought. _Yes,_ he thought, _definitely as free as the wind._

"Are you going to hang there for much longer?" Naruto asked out loud, his eyes still closed. "It's awfully chilly out here." For a few seconds nothing happened, and then Naruto felt his visitor move from under the balcony to come stand next to him. Naruto opened one eye and looked at his guest.

"Why didn't you want your team mates to know you're still alive?" Naruto asked. His visitor, who looked like an Iwagakure Jonin, shrugged.

"Ebisu-sensei knows I'm alive, and that's enough. I suspect Hiarashi-san has her doubts as well, but she was busy concentrating on the mission. And Hanabi … with her Kekkei Genkai, she should have been the first to realise I'm alive. But then again my special **Henge** would have been a failure if she had. I don't know, to be honest. I just wasn't too bothered. I helped complete the mission and that's what counts. They can take most of the credit if they want. I'll only tell them the bare details."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I don't want to reveal much of my abilities until the perfect time."

"And when will the time be right?" Naruto asked. Naruto's visitor finally turned to look at him. A roguish smile touched the lips, and a twinkle came into the brown eyes.

"Very soon, boss," the visitor said with a small salute before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto's eyebrows rose as he opened both of his eyes. He hadn't heard that title of his in seven years. He smiled.

"Very soon indeed, Konohamaru," Naruto murmured before going back into his room to sleep. He had a busy day of research tomorrow. A smile was on his lips at that thought.

XXX

Getting out of Iwagakure proved to be a bit more of a problem that they had originally planned. They had planned on leaving in the morning, each one of them under a **Henge**. They had already chosen the people they were going to emulate. That way any watching patrols wouldn't be alerted to anything unusual by the fact that people who hadn't entered the Village were leaving it.

It was night, and as such there would be more patrols around the Village, especially the _**Gu**_**njijou Ansatsu **_**Chi**_**an no Chouhoukikan**, the _Strategic Assassination, Security and Intelligence Agency_, which was the Tsuchikage's own Black Ops Squad. And just like Konoha's ANBU, Iwagakure's _**GUCHI**_ operatives were excellent at what they did. Getting past them would be nigh impossible. Nevertheless, they had to try. Anything could happen between night and morning, and they didn't want to sacrifice the information they had.

"We are depending on you, Hanabi," Ebisu stated bluntly. "You're the only one who can guide us safely away from this village." Hanabi nodded and she had to admit she felt a little trepidation. This mission had been one surprise after another. She felt unsure.

"_You are a Hyuga, Hanabi! You are better than this!"_

Hanabi started at the memory of the voice. Her father. It was years ago, during a training session. Hanabi had been completely exhausted while her father merely looked bored. That was the day her father had taught her the value of determination, the value of surpassing set boundaries and creating your own. That was the day her father had showed her what it meant to be a Hyuga. She was a born leader, not a follower. Hanabi closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Hai," she said. Hiarashi, who had been lost in her own thoughts, snapped back to reality. She had heard the change in Hanabi's voice. Looking at the girl, she saw it too. The girl seemed much more relaxed and sure of herself.

Hanabi activated her Byakugan before she took point and lead the squad through Iwagakure. Hanabi had one destination in mind; the main entrance. No one would be likely to expect that. In fact, although they didn't know it, the main entrance was the least defended part of Iwagakure. The Tsuchikage had spent most of his forces on the less accessible or less popular parts of Iwagakure and Earth Country. That way should an attack come from one of those places, it could be stalled while help arrived.

"Wait here," Hanabi instructed softly before her form disappeared as she performed a **Shunshin**. Ebisu and Hiarashi waited patiently, not knowing what the young Hyuga was up to. Nevertheless, they crouched against the wall in silence, their senses alert to any danger. Hanabi suddenly appeared in front of them, and both Ebisu and Hiarashi had to hide their surprise at how silent the girl was. It was only now they realised how talented she was. She had to be to be able to achieve the rank of Jonin. Ebisu looked into the girl's activated Byakugan and knew that she could be a deadly enemy. All of the uncertainty he had detected in her during the first and second leg of the mission – infiltrating Earth Country and Iwagakure, and gathering required information – was totally gone. In its place was the cool, calm and collected Hyuga heir.

"The way's clear," Hanabi said quietly. "I took care of all the guards and patrols in out path. We have a clear way out of Iwagakure." With that Hanabi turned and began to run. Ebisu followed behind, with Hiarashi bringing up the rear. Ebisu was the one with all of the information. Hanabi would lead the squad through any traps or enemies, Hiarashi would protect their backs from attack, and Ebisu would be in the middle protecting the information from the safest position.

_They've both performed well, Hokage-sama_, Ebisu thought. _We're coming home with Naruto-kun's information._ Ebisu grimaced slightly. _I don't think either of these two will take it very well when they find out you'd sent us here to meet with Naruto-kun all along._ Ebisu suddenly smiled mischievously. _But then again, a fight between you and Hiarashi-san – two sexy women – will more than make up for it. He, he, he…_

XXX

"Wow," Kiba stammered.

"Indeed," Lee commented. "Hinata-san's skills have grown remarkably in the past seven years. To think she can perform **Suiton** jutsu without a nearby water source … that is something only the Nidaime was capable of!"

"I think her Byakugan had a hand in that," Kakashi said softly as he pulled his hitai-ate over his Sharingan.

"I'm of the same thought," Haku said as she took a sip of her green tea.

"I still cannot believe Neji-san was defeated!" Lee exclaimed. "First it was Naruto-kun and now Hinata-san!" _How many more obstacles shall I have to surmount, Gai-sensei?_

"He put up a fight, though," Inari commented. "To be able to wear down the fearsome _Neko-sama_ like that … he's skilled."

"Why do you call her _Neko-sama_?" Kiba asked as he absently petted Akamaru. Inari grinned.

"Don't let her hear you call her that. She hates the nickname." Inari placed his cup on the table. The ice had evaporated after Hinata had knocked Neji unconscious. Haku had claimed there was no more reason to watch. Secretly, she did not want the others to see Hinata while she talked to her cousin. It would be a private matter, a family moment.

"It comes from her abilities," Inari continued. "She has sensitive hearing and a sense of smell, and she also is very tenacious when provoked, not to mention her agility, speed, stamina and strength. It started with a kid from the Hyougen Clan, but it quickly caught momentum. Hinata-san hates it a passion, its great!"

"Be respectful toward your elders, Byakko," Haku admonished. Inari bowed in supplication, accepting the criticism. Sakura, however, saw the tug of a faint smile on his lips and she couldn't help but smile too. This kid was full of life.

"And so we begin," Haku said. "I assume you're the mission commander, Kakashi-san?" Haku asked. Kakashi nodded. "Very well," Haku continued. "In exchange for your freedom, I want you and your team to go back to Konoha and give this dossier to your Hokage. In case it should be lost, I will tell you the basic contents; it is a proposition for a truce."

"I accept, Mizukage-sama," Kakashi said.

The Konoha ninja realised what this meant. They were going home. And then another thought hit them. What about Hinata? Would Neji go along with this?

_Oh boy,_ Shikamaru thought. _I can sense the trouble already beginning. Just great…_


	6. Chapter 6: The Mission part 5:Conclusion

"Hokage-sama!"

"Again with the shouting, Shizune," Tsunade grumbled. "I don't need you adding another headache to the one I already have. Danzō has just been-"

"Squad Kakashi is back!" Shizune interrupted.

Tsunade blinked.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" she demanded as she jumped out of her seat.

"I – I tried, but-"

"Never mind that now," Tsunade said in an exasperated tone of voice. "Send them in!"

"_Hai_, Hokage-sama!"

Shizune stepped out of the room for a moment and when she came back she had the whole of Squad Kakashi in tow. Tsunade looked at them as they all filed in. Something was wrong. Apart from the natural weariness you might expect from a long journey, they all looked in perfect health. Considering the kind of mission they'd been on, she would have expected them to look a bit more harried. She'd even expected a couple of casualties. Nothing Sakura couldn't deal with, of course, but some sign that these eight ninja had been on an S-rank mission in enemy territory. Something was definitely wrong.

"Kakashi," Tsunade said as she slowly sat down, "report."

"_Hai_, Hokage-sama," Kakashi intoned in his calm voice. "Our mission was a success … somewhat."

"Somewhat?" Tsunade asked, not liking the sound of it one bit.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. We managed to infiltrate Kirigakure no Sato, but during the early stages of the mission we were detected by members of the Seven Swordsmen. We lost the ensuing battle and we were captured."

"I see," Tsunade said slowly, not failing to notice how free the squad looked.

Kakashi continued on. "We were taken to a compound in Kirigakure, where we met the Mizukage, Haku. She invited us to have tea with her and-"

"Let me get this straight," Tsunade interrupted Kakashi incredulously. "You had tea with the Mizukage? After her agents captured you?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied simply.

"Yes," Tsunade echoed with an arched eyebrow. "Please, continue."

"After we shared tea," Kakashi continued, "she gave me this dossier and entrusted me to hand it over to you. I'll sum up the contents: "we mean Konoha no ill will, and rather than spill unnecessary blood we'd like to propose a truce.""

_A truce, not an alliance_, Tsunade couldn't help but notice. _So they think they can survive any foreign incursion into their territory, despite the fact that the village is still recovering from a civil war? But then again, looking at what this Haku has accomplished, maybe her confidence is justified._

Tsunade picked up the dossier and started to flick through it. The documents were handwritten in a flowing hand, the beautiful calligraphy belying the heavy and important content.

_She's skilled with a blade_, Tsunade noted as she studied the script. _And she is confident in herself and her decisions. The lettering … she has a structured and ordered but adaptable mind._

The ninja in the room remained silent as Tsunade read the whole of the dossier. Not one of them moved or fidgeted, even Akamaru. But then again the huge dog was asleep.

"Very well," Tsunade said at last. "You're dismissed. I want each of you to hand in a mission report by tomorrow morning, after which you'll have three days of R&R before your next mission."

"_Hai!_"

Without another word the squad filed out, although they all traded significant glances with each other. Neji, who was always a stoic person at the best of times, had been positively rigid. He might as well have been made from marble. He did not share glances with anyone, simply leaving in a calmly fashion. As the squad left another person slipped into the room so smoothly Tsunade almost missed the entry. Almost. But being a member of the _Dansetsu no Sannin_, the Three Legendary Ninja, a ninja with nearly fifty years of experience, as well as having to deal with Jiraiya, the sneakiest of all perverts, it took a lot for someone to pull the wool over her eyes. She did not, however, react to the entry. She simply looked at Kakashi, who had remained behind, and waited for an explanation.

"There is one more issue, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, and if Tsunade didn't know any better she could have sworn he sounded nervous.

"Which is?" Tsunade asked, her face impassive.

"This is the ninth person involved in our ambushing in Water Country," Kakashi said.

Tsunade finally allowed herself to look at the person full on. The figure was wearing a cloak similar to an Akatsuki one, patterned with white clouds instead of red ones. At five feet and nine inches the figure was neither tall nor short, at least for a man. The cloak, along with the straw hat, covered up any traces of gender.

"And this person is here because?"

"She is an ally of the Mizukage, along with her … partner. The two of them helped the Mizukage during the civil war. She is the one who defeated Neji and incapacitated him during our infiltration."

That particular bit of information made Tsunade raise her eyebrows in surprise. She was one of the few people who knew what Neji was completely capable of.

"I see," she said slowly. "And who exactly is this person?"

Hinata took of her _gasa_, her straw hat, and smiled at Tsunade.

"It has been a long time, Hokage-sama," Hinata said with a small bow.

"Oh," Tsunade blinked. "Things are getting interesting."

XXX

Ebisu led what remained of his squad through Konoha's south-west gate. Hiarashi and Hinata looked just as bad as he did. Days spent dodging Iwagakure Black Ops and getting back into Fire Country undetected had left them sore and grimy. Now they wanted nothing more than to have a shower and a nice long soak in the hot springs. But they had to report to the Hokage first. Sarutobi Konohamaru, one of the last of the prestigious Sarutobi Clan, was missing in action. When Asuma found out… Hiarashi did not even want to contemplate that particular conversation. Asuma looked after Konohamaru as if the kid was his own son.

"It was his own fault," Hanabi muttered for the umpteenth time.

"Be silent," Hiarashi said with surprising harshness.

Hanabi blinked and looked up at Hiarashi, surprised at the reprimand.

"Despite your ill feelings towards him, Konohamaru remains your comrade. He sacrificed himself for the mission, and to save your life. This is a fact, no matter how much you may have despised him. Treat him with the respect he deserves."

It wasn't a request, Ebisu noted without turning to look at the two kunoichi walking by his side. Hanabi frowned and looked down at the ground.

"I did not despise him," she said. "I simply found his lackadaisical attitude toward the ninja profession extremely vexing. He had no concept of _giri_, of duty, or honour. He abandoned his teammates when they wanted to enter the Chūnin Examinations. He walked around dressed in Hokage robes, making a mockery both to the highest ranking ninja in the village and to the late honourable Sandaime Hokage. He was just a joke."

Ebisu stopped walking so suddenly the two kunoichi stopped moments after he did and looked back at him, wondering what the matter was. Ebisu looked up at the blue sky. The sun was shining, basking his face in warmth.

"Despite both your reputations and skill, you still remain blind to some very obvious things."

Ebisu shook his head and resumed walking. He did not stop to see if either Hiarashi or Hanabi was following.

XXX

Shizune saw Team Ebisu coming and immediately stood. It seemed today was a momentous day. Even though she hadn't been an active ninja for a long time, she was sharper than ever. She had to be, being the aide to a very lazy and haphazard Hokage. So it was easy for Shizune to notice the air of melancholy that surrounded Hiarashi and Hanabi. Ebisu, however, seemed normal. If it weren't for the fact that Konohamaru's private tutor seemed so calm, she would have thought that something bad had happened to the honourable grandson of the Third Hokage. So why were the two kunoichi looking so troubled…?

"If you would just like to wait here," she said to them. "The Hokage is in meeting and asked not to be disturbed."

"We have important information that needs her immediate attention," Hiarashi said severely. Shizune noted the hard look in the kunoichi's eyes, and what's more something told her it wasn't aimed at Shizune herself but at the door to the Hokage's office.

"I have my orders, Hiarashi-san," Shizune said calmly. She had long learned how to deal with the slightly spoilt pawn of the Council. Confrontation was not the answer. Namikaze Hiarashi, being both a politically and physically powerful shinobi, was guaranteed to win nearly all forms of confrontation she encountered within Konoha. No, the best way to deal with her was to pull rank. As a ninja under the Hokage's jurisdiction, she had no option, when it really came down to it, to obey and respect orders, and by extension the orders of Tsunade-sama's aides.

"Trust me on this," Hiarashi said, stepping past Shizune. "She is going to want to see this."

Shizune heaved a poorly concealed sigh and looked at Ebisu. The _tokubetsu _Jōnin shrugged and followed Hiarashi, Hanabi a step behind.

Hiarashi opened the door and stepped into the room like a fire storm, her face a mask of barely concealed rage. Tsunade and the other occupant of the room looked at her with impassive gazes, which brought Hiarashi up short. Every time she barged into the Hokage's office she always got some kind of negative response. This time it was almost as if they were expecting–

"Ah," the other occupant, a familiar looking Hyūga girl dressed in Akatsuki-like clothing, said. "You're here."

"What do you mean?" Hiarashi asked. If there was one thing she hated, it was being outside the loop, not knowing what the hell was going on.

"We have been expecting you," Tsunade explained, enjoying the barrage of expressions and emotions flashing across Hiarashi's eyes and face and trying very hard not to show it.

"What do you mean?" Hiarashi asked again, this time a bit more belligerently. She knew she was repeating herself like some simpleton and that only made her angrier.

"So very like him," Hinata murmured so softly Hiarashi couldn't be completely sure if she'd heard the Hyūga girl right, "and yet so very different."

"What are you talking about?" Hiarashi asked through clenched teeth, fighting very hard to control her temper.

"I was the one who told the Hokage to expect Ebisu-san's cell back around this time."

Hiarashi frowned and looked at the pale-faced, lavender-eyed girl. Something clicked in the vaults of her memory.

"I know you," Hiarashi said with a note of surprise. "You're Hiashi's daughter … Hinata! You're the one that disappeared seven years ago…"

Hinata bowed her head slightly in greeting. "I am Hyūga Hinata."

Hiarashi's frown returned in a more intense form. "You disappeared right round the time that dropout Uzumaki Naruto disappeared."

Hinata merely smiled but did not reply.

Hiarashi's gaze finally settled back on the Hokage. She had not moved since Hiarashi had entered the room. The eerie calm with which Tsunade regarded her sent a shiver up and down Hiarashi's spine.

"Report," Tsunade ordered, her voice commanding without being insulting, which wrong-footed Hiarashi once more. It took her a second to figure out that while Tsunade was looking at her, the Hokage was actually ordered Ebisu to report. Her fists clenched tightly but she did not speak.

"_Hai!_" Ebisu snapped to attention and gave a detailed report of their mission, leaving nothing out. If Hanabi and Hiarashi hadn't been with him nearly twenty-four/seven they would have thought that he had rehearsed the report. It seemed he had done enough verbal reports to be able to form them on the spot. It was a dying art in many ninja, what with the increasing importance of written reports.

"I see," Tsunade said when Ebisu was finished, her eyes still on Hiarashi. "Thank you. If I could see this folder Uzumaki Naruto gave you, please."

"_Hai_, Hokage-sama."

Ebisu briskly took out a scroll from his vest, opened it and summoned the manila folder in question. He handed it to the Hokage and resumed his position beside Hanabi and Hiarashi. Tsunade set the folder on her desk, looked at it but did not open it.

"Do you remember your Chūnin exams, Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked absently. Hanabi shared a confused look with Ebisu and Hiarashi.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied conversationally.

"What are you talking about?" Hiarashi interjected, deciding she had had enough of the games. She wanted answers. "There are more important matters at hand than some stupid exams that happened years ago."

Tsunade ignored the interruption.

"What was your second task for the exams?" Tsunade asked, still looking at the folder. Ebisu's eyebrows straightened slightly and he for a second he turned his head and regarded Hiarashi severely, who was standing on his right.

"Thirteen teams were sent into Area 44, the Forest of Death Hokage-sama. Each team was given a scroll, either Heaven or Earth, and their objective was to retrieve whatever scroll they didn't have from any one of the thirteen teams. Our year group set a record for the most number of teams to pass into the second task, and indeed the third task."

"Yes, you were most certainly gifted, weren't you?" Hiarashi spat sarcastically, her body trembling.

Again she was ignored.

"What were the rules and objectives of the task?" Tsunade asked. Apart from her lips and throat, her body was as still as stone.

"It was the Forest of Death, Hokage-sama. Apart from "survive" and "succeed" there weren't any rules or objectives. It was a taste of the dangerous life Chūnin experience on day to day missions. …Although there was one rule."

Tsunade finally looked up and straight into Hiarashi's eye. The look in the Hokage's eyes stilled Hiarashi. Tsunade steepled her fingers.

"Enlighten me," Tsunade said oh so very softly. The room was utterly and deafeningly silent.

"We were ordered and warned not to, under any circumstances, open the scrolls until we had made it to the tower at the centre of the Forest. We later learned the reason behind this was that as Chūnin we would be entrusted with many sensitive documents, and unless we had express permission from our commanding officers, we, as Chūnin, were expected to be trustworthy and not compromise those documents. "Don't be nosy," to quote Kakashi-san."

"Yes, I imagined it was something like that," Tsunade murmured. She looked like a hawk that had spotted a snake in the grass below. Everyone in the room has finally cottoned on to the seemingly meaningless dialogue between the Hokage and Hinata. All that remained was to determine whether or not the hawk was hungry, and whether or not the snake would be lucky enough to sense danger and escape. Hanabi gave a mental nod as she finally understood the look she had seen Ebisu give to Hiarashi.

"Thank you, Ebisu-taichou. You and your team have three day's leave for some rest and relaxation before you are expected to report for duty."

The meaning behind the statement was clear; if Hiarashi pushed the Hokage by demanding answers, Tsunade would punish her for insubordination and gross misconduct. And depending on how much Hiarashi vexed Tsunade, Tsunade could either suspend her or even dismiss her from the Konoha Military Corps. If Hiarashi was smart, she would quietly leave and not cause any waves for a very long time. But Hiarashi saw a loop hole. Despite the fact that she had indeed read the folder and committed an act of gross misconduct, among breaking other shinobi laws, there was no actual proof. With the backing of the Council, Hiarashi could push for an official tribunal where things like evidence were required, which no one had. She smirked and took a step toward the Hokage's desk. She barely saw the movement, and if it wasn't for the intensive and extensive training she had endured from the moment she could walk, she would found herself at Hinata's mercy. As it was she was just barely able to block the attack and jump back out of arm reach. The metallic clang of kunai on kunai filled room. In the half second it had taken Hiarashi to move backward, Hinata had resumed her position, the kunai vanished from her left hand, and for the entire world looked like she hadn't moved at all. If the room wasn't filled with either genetically perceptive or experienced eyes, no one would have been able to see what had occurred. Hiarashi remained in her tense, defensive posture for a couple of seconds before straightening. Hinata did not look back at her once, her body completely relaxed.

"You will treat the Hokage, the leader of this village, with the respect she deserves."

There was no implied threat in Hinata's tone of voice. It was not even an order. It was a simple statement, which made the words even more chilling. Hinata hadn't even looked like she was trying when she attacked Hiarashi, and Hiarashi had barely escaped the cut aimed at her throat. The fact that Hinata was issuing a warning implied that the attack hadn't been meant to succeed to begin with, which meant Hinata was capable of much, much more. Hiarashi suppressed the urge to retort, "Or what?"

Tsunade still looked as calm and as dangerous as ever.

"You will restrain yourself, Hiarashi-chan, and remember your place and where you are." Hiarashi had never heard Tsunade sound like this. But Hiarashi was no pushover either. She had had her fair share of confrontations.

"No, Tsunade-sama. You have some explaining to do. Why and how are you still in contact with Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Hinata, both of whom abandoned the village seven years ago? And why are you preventing me from accepting the challenge of Kongou Gunshin, the heir of the Kongou Clan?"

"I am the Hokage," Tsunade replied. "What I do, I do for the betterment of the village. I cannot stop you from fighting once the challenge has been issued, and I cannot send forces to forestall Gunshin. It is one of the oldest of shinobi traditions. No one will intervene when a shinobi marches under the red flag, especially not when that shinobi has the backing of his clan and village. Have you once thought how Iwagakure would react whether you won the match or not? The fight we cannot intervene with, but the consequences are for all of us to share, _child_. There are many issues that require the village's undivided attention. I do not need you starting a war simply because you wish to prove how strong you are."

Hiarashi took deep breaths to calm herself. What Tsunade was saying made logical sense. It was just that she was not used to hearing a calm and logical argument from the blonde Hokage, whose temper was as volatile as Hiarashi's. Tsunade was being surprisingly calm, and what's more her words were making Hiarashi look incredibly foolish and childish.

"Fine," Hiarashi said after a few seconds' pause. "I will make myself scarce, but if he finds me and challenges me, I will accept."

Tsunade did not reply or make any other motion to confirm that she had heard and accepted what Hiarashi said. The Fourth Hokage's daughter gritted her teeth before continuing on.

"Kakashi-sensei told me that…" Hiarashi could not bring herself to finish what she was about to say.

"To the best of my knowledge," Tsunade replied, guessing what Hiarashi had been about to say, "what Kakashi said was true."

"How long have you been in contact with … _him_?" Hiarashi couldn't say his name. Saying it would make Kakashi's words a reality. She wasn't ready to deal with that, not yet. _He_ couldn't be her brother. He couldn't! Hinata stirred softly, subtly, but it was enough to convey her message; Hinata would not tolerate Hiarashi speaking that way about the male in question. Hiarashi ignored her.

Tsunade smiled thinly. "I have been indulgent Hiarashi, but you are pushing your luck. In case you had forgotten, I am the Hokage. I do not need to tell you every little thing I do, nor my motives for doing them. Is that understood?"

"… Yes, Hokage-sama," Hiarashi replied through clenched teeth.

"Good. Now in case you were thinking of going behind my back like the spoilt little brat you are and approaching the Council, I would just like to inform you that I do indeed have proof of your … indiscretions."

"What?" Hiarashi whispered, for the first time sounding slightly scared.

"There are seals placed on that folder," Hinata replied. "It was how I knew you were coming, and how Tsunade-sama knew it had been tampered with. There are plenty of ninja in Konohagakure no Sato who are skilled enough to examine the folder and attest to what I say as the truth."

Hiarashi could barely stop from swallowing out loud.

"He set me up…" she whispered.

"Hardly," Tsunade said dryly. "As a shinobi you are expected to exercise discretion. The seals were in place to protect the contents of the documents in case you lost it somehow. You should be grateful he anticipated you might open it out of curiosity and made provisions for your touch not to trigger the traps."

"Traps?" Hiarashi asked.

"Yes," Hinata replied. "There wouldn't have been anything left of you or your teammates to bury."

"Dammit!" Hiarashi cursed. She was sure she had checked the folder for traps. How could she have missed them? Could that dropout really have mastered Fūinjutsu to such a high level? She had learnt her sealing techniques from the best minds in Konoha. Had she been surpassed? By a dropout? Impossible!

"You risked the lives of your teammates?" It was the first time Ebisu had spoken since giving his report. He did not sound happy.

"This isn't the time, Ebisu-taichou-" Hiarashi started distractedly. The slap not only silenced her but floored her too. Hanabi looked on it shock. She had barely seen the specialisation Jōnin move, and that was saying something. It seemed Ebisu was more skilled than he had let on, if he could actually land a blow on Hiarashi without her expecting it.

"This is the perfect time, kunoichi," Ebisu said, his voice perfectly calm. "You risked the lives of your teammates for a personal vendetta not in any way relevant to the mission. You undermined my authority as the mission leader. You disgraced me as a mission leader, in front of the Hokage no less. You committed gross insubordination and misconduct whilst under my leadership. In essence, Namikaze Hiarashi, you spit on the ninja ranking system and the law, believing yourself to be above it. That is not only grounds for instant dishonourable discharge, but imprisonment at the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility for no length less than five years. And seeing as we have not been dismissed by the Hokage, I am still technically your superior, and I am loathe letting such behaviour go unpunished."

By that point Hiarashi was standing up again, her face a mixture of surprise, fear, and anger.

"You are no longer a child, but a trusted shinobi who wields tremendous power," Ebisu said. "It's time you started acting like it. You are hereby suspended from active duty for a month. Your rank and ninja status are temporarily revoked. You will report to me every morning for the following month for your punishment. Is that understood?"

Hiarashi gaped at Ebisu and then at Tsunade, who was for the entire world a sculpture feature merely occupying the Hokage's seat.

"You … you can't…"

"You are walking on extremely thin ice, Jōnin Hiarashi," Ebisu whispered softly. "I asked you a question."

It took a few seconds for Hiarashi to pull herself together. She drew to her full height and hopped to attention. "Understood, sir!" she said crisply, all emotion gone from her face and voice.

"Good," Ebisu said, and he actually seemed pleased by her conduct. He turned to the Hokage and bowed at the waist.

"Please forgive me, Hokage-sama!"

"You conducted yourself honourably and appropriately, Ebisu-taichou. You have nothing to apologise for. Dismissed."

"_Hai!_" Team Ebisu shouted as one.

Just then the door opened and in came a tall sixteen year old boy, standing at about five feet eleven inches, and wearing not a replica but the actual Hokage robes and hat worn by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage. They had been altered and lengthened to fit the much physically bigger occupant. Hanabi and Hiarashi blinked a couple of times, convinced they were under an illusionary technique of some sort.

"'Sup," Konohamaru said, his hands casually resting behind his head, a grass stalk sticking out of the side of his mouth. "Hope I'm not late for the debriefing. I kinda lost track of time at Ichiraku Ramen."

XXX

_Namikaze Hiarashi_, Gunshin thought as Konoha's South Gate appeared just over the horizon. _We're like mirror images of each other. From birth a lot was expected of us, and as fate would have it we were both gifted with the abilities of our respective clans, gifted just like our fathers. From the time we could walk we were both put through the kind of intensive and extensive training that very few shinobi can survive, even the trainees of the Hidden Mist before Zabuza fucked things up. We have both been groomed for this very day, this fateful day, when we would both fight to correct the perceived sins of our fathers. I am prepared for what may come, death and all, but are you, granddaughter of the Fire Lord?_

"Who are you?"

Gunshin looked at the aging Chūnin on duty, subconsciously assessing the level of risk the man posed.

"I am Kongou Gunshin, heir to the Kongou Clan of Iwagakure no Sato, and son of the Tsuchikage, _Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki_, Ōnoki of Both Scales. As is shinobi tradition, I have come under the red flag of truce and feud. The Kongou Clan, and by extension Iwagakure, do not wish to begin a war but wish to have their thirst for vengeance sated. I have come to challenge Namikaze Hiarashi, heir to the Namikaze Clan and daughter to the Fourth Hokage, to a duel to the death. Take me to the Hokage."

The Chūnin could only look at the young man with his mouth agape. First that incident with Uchiha Itachi all those years ago, and now this. Just like back then when he woke up from the illusionary technique, he had the same thought; _I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning_.


End file.
